Sentinels of Arcgen
by ShivaVixen
Summary: A rainy day, A strange antique shop, a Magic book, and a world forgotten by all start a journey that brings life into perspective, and threatens everything precious.
1. Darkness Stirs

**Hi, welcome to my first multichapter W.I.T.C.H. fic. You'll notice I've updated or posted a lot of first chapters for fics, but the reason is simple.I have too many ideas, and I'd like to get them posted so I won't forget them. The more review I get for a story, the more likely it is for me to work on it and finish it.**

**Now, I don't own any characters, I just own the OCs that pop up now and then. I can promise you that I'll stick to W.I.T.C.H. Characters with W.I.T.C.H. characters, and OC's with OC's. Unless it will actually help the plot to move on, then I might reconsider, but for right now, that's how it stands.**

**I am making no money off this, this is for my enjoyment, though I hope you enjoy it as well. And Now:**

**The Darkness Stirs**

On the far reaches of the universe, a darkened world exists. There is no sun or moon, and the only light is a terrible red glow, much like glowing blood. Everything on the world is asleep, Wolves with large fangs, trolls with rock like hides and tusks, and black bats that hang upside down in the trees looking like dead dry leaves from a distance. If one was brave enough to take one from the branch, they would find overlarge fangs in the bats mouths, cruel claws, and scales as well as patches of fur. In the center of the world, there is a stone. A large, circular stone, covered in green, but slowly dying vines.

Nothing so much as stirs in this darkened world, not the monsters that sleep there, or the one imprisoned, deep in the dark heart of the stone.

Suddenly an unseen shudder runs through the world. And an unheard voice whispers one word.

"_Soon._"

* * *

It wasn't often that Nigel was running late. Missing his bus was part of the problem, sure, but normally he could've made it in time. If there wasn't a rainstorm and Hail to deal with and his parents were out of town.

So much for a normal good day.

Stubbornly, he tried to make it to school, he had a gift for Taranee, one he was pretty sure she would enjoy. He all but dove into a storefront door as the hail got worse.

"Oof!" And promptly collided with two others who had taken refuge.

"Oh, sorry."

"It's okay, Nigel." Eric smiled. Martin adjusted his glasses. "Miss the bus?"

"What was your first clue?" Nigel scowled at the sky. "I should've just gone home and stayed there when it started raining."

"That would be a good idea." Martin glanced at the sky. "I hope Mrs. Knickerbocker won't hold this against us."

"Hardly." They all jumped and looked back. Mrs. Knickerbocker was in the open door. "Come on in. This store is open at odd hours, Ms. Weatherbee is an old friend."

"Got caught because of the hail too?"

"My car wouldn't start." Mrs. Knickerbocker sighed. "Darla, you have some visitors . . . Students of mine caught in the storm."

"Oohh?" The voice creaked. The old woman wasn't a hag, but she sure hadn't aged well, wrinkled and bent half over with a cane . . . "Well, they're more than welcome to explore. Just don't break anything. We'll have tea soon I think . . ." A nod from Mrs. knickerbocker sent them off, exploring the antique store.

On the second level, Nigel noticed a book on the shelf. For a moment, he thought it had glowed. Now perhaps he hadn't thought of all the movies and stories where when any object glows, it is normally enchanted, or the stories where things had been sealed into books that could be released, but no matter what went through his mind, he picked the book off the shelf, and with Eric and Martin curious and right behind him, opened it up. Wind from nowhere started to blow the pages, and the ground trembled. The book flew out of his hands, the pages continuing to turn. Martin and Eric grabbed him as his feet left the floor, and a bright light came from the book. A second later, it engulfed them.

There was no trace of the boys left, and the book floated down onto a podium, opened to a picture of a thriving city. Ms. Waetherbee entered the room, saw the book, and smiled, her eyes glowing. Behind her, Mrs. Knickerbocker flickered, and suddenly disapeared.

* * *

It was like being on an out of control tilt a whirl, which came to a rather sudden halt. Martin's stomach emptied it's contents, thankfully on the ground and not on the other two.

"What, the hell . . .was that?" Eric managed after a few moments.

"I haven't a clue . . . ohh, my stomach . . ." Martin mumbled.

"Guys . . . We're not in Heatherfield, anymore." Nigel stared at the surroundings. The 'town' they had landed in was pure metal. But strangely, there were metal flowers that seemed . . . alive. Standing, the three looked around. There was nothing moving, other than them.

"Oh, lord . . ."

"Maybe we can find someone . . . to get us back home . . ."

"I think it's the only option we have . . . what was the name of the book, anyway?"

"Umm . . . Arcgen." Nigel shrugged. "Come on . . . we better get moving . . ."

The entire city seemed to be sleeping, The boys remained silent, speaking suddenly seemed like a very bad idea, as if breaking the silence was a crime. The road led straight to a magnificent building. Nigel didn't hesitate, though Martin and Eric did. He walked right up the steps. He couldn't explain why he did so later, but he would always say that something called him irresistibly forward.

The inside was like a giant entrance hall, and sitting on a throne, head bowed, was a green haired person. On the floor was a seal, a simple circle with lightning bolts through it. Nigel continued until he stood on the seal, and the woman, evidenced by her chest as her green haired head lifted, looked at them almost hollowly.

"Who are you?"

"Travelers that have gotten lost." Nigel felt like someone else was talking for him. "I am Nigel, this is Eric, and that's Martin." Her eyes studied him. Why was he struggling to breathe? "Where are we?"

"Arcgen." She whispered. "Though it no longer is a thriving world."

"What's happened to it?"

"It sleeps. An evil has destroyed many lives, those that are still in the realm of the living may never wake up. I led the last battle, but we couldn't stop him." Her voice was soft, and listless, like she had no energy left. "And now," The young woman bowed her head. "I am the only survivor of the attack . . . the heart of a destroyed world . . . twice cursed . . ."

"Twice?" Nigel felt sorry for the woman.

"I have lost the ability to change into my warrior form . . . and I still live when those I have loved are in the crypts and catacombs." She held the silver sphere up. It floated serenely, a gentle purple color pulsing like electricity. "And now, the evil comes, to claim the heart and my life . . ."

"That's awful . . . Is there anyway we can help?" Once again, Nigel felt like he couldn't control his own actions.

" . . . One way. But would you be willing to change your life to do it?" She studied them. "You'd have power, but you'd be alienated from those you live with." The boys looked at each other.

"It will be okay, we'll figure it out as we go along . . ." Nigel assured her.

"Then, here." Two bolts of power struck Martin and Eric, and the Sphere itself hit Nigel in the chest. "I, Alectra, give the heart of Arcgen to you, Nigel. And to the two of you . . .the power to help and support him." She smiled as the magic changed them. When the light cleared, Eric glanced down at himself. He was wearing a deep blue and black ninja outfit with silver armor on his forearms and shins, and a blue visor across his eyes, like something out of a sci-fi anime. Spying his reflection, he blinked as he realized he was more . . . grown up and muscular.

"Cool . . ." He glanced at where Martin, The slightly geeky boy had become a muscular young man in a royal purple Tunic, grey pants, and a some silver armor on his shins and forearms. He had a purple visor, and his hair was a litlle longer. Both turned to look at Nigel, who's auburn hair had gotten longer and in a ponytail, he had a green visor, and was wearing form fitting armor that looked more like brown and green leather.

"Alectra!" He caught the young woman as she fell.

"Now, the power can't be taken . . . my world . . . will survive." She managed a weak smile. She started to glow, and Nigel, even with the visor, had to shield his eyes. In place of the young woman, there was now a slightly metallic green lizard. A large Iguana, as Eric spoke up.

"Alectra?"

_'I always wondered what my final form would be.'_ The voice echoed in their heads.

"Final form?"

_"My world is made of techno-organic shape shifters. When we are young, we look like the animals you call puppies and kittens, as we age, we can choose our gender, and how we look, either more organic or robotic. Some of us are a bit more capable of changing form rapidly.'_ Alectra moved her head. _'However, our final form, is not of our choosing. One of my friends became a stink slug. Another became a beautiful woman.'_

"That's not too bad."

_'He prided himself on being masculine. It was a sore blow to his pride.'_ Nigel picked her up and let her drape on his shoulders. _'I'm sure you have questions, Sentinels, but the evil has come.'_ Much to there shock a wall crashed in, and a Dragon's head filled the opening. _'My former brother, Aesop.'_

"Let me guess, final form?" Eric backed up.

_'Form of his choosing. If you wound him enough, he will be forced to take his final form. I only hope it is something less powerful.'_

"Can we . . . Destroy him?"

_'Utter destruction?'_ Alectra 'sounded' horrified. _'That is forbidden to our kind . . . to take another's life is a crime."_

"Why? It's self defense?"

_'We gain the memories and strength of whoever's life we take.'_ Alectra responded._ 'In one of our last wars, the warriors destroyed anyone they could, so they could get stronger. Innocent sparklets were killed so they could get stronger. Those that refused to get stronger were either forced to kill or were killed.'_

"That's . . ." Martin felt sick.

_'That is why it became a crime. My brother . . . he broke that law. He has much more strength than I did.'_

"And you think we can beat them?"

_'You would not have survived the trip here, otherwise.'_

"Great . . . how do we fight, we don't have any weapons." Alectra didn't respond. Eric dove out of a fire blast, and blinked as a chain with a morning star on the end appeared in his hand. It shimmered with energy, and it flashed as he swung it at the dragon's head, making it roar and stumble back. "Cool . . ." Martin held up his hands, and managed to make an energy shield, protecting himself from being barbecued. "Hey, how come Nigel gets the sword?" Nigel managed to score a slash on the dragon's side. The sword in question was silver with purple electricity. Instead of pure energy, like the others, the heart of Arcgen had turned into his weapon.

_'He thought of it first.' _Alectra's voice sounded amused. _'Don't worry, in time, you'll be able to change your energy weapons to whatever you wish. This is just to hold you over until your powers get more under your control.'_

"oh, okay . . ." Martin blinked.

"Martin, shield up!" Nigel shouted. He obeyed, and the others grouped behind him. "This is ridiculous. He's shaking off everything we throw at him!" Martin's arms started to shake.

"I can't hold this for much longer guys . . ."

"We've got it. Hold Alectra, will you?" The iguana was passed to Martin, and Eric and Nigel charged the beast.

* * *

Outside the building, the silence was suddenly shattered by a huge surge of power. Lights that had glowed went out. The sudden silence was deafening. Then, the door fell off its hinges. Martin, carrying Alectra, came out first. Eric followed, and Nigel came out last, holding a Raven.

"Well, that was . . . shocking." Martin's hair was standing on end.

_'Tell me about it, I wasn't expecting a backlash.'_

"Ugh, what hit me?" The Raven croaked. "Where am I?"

_'Currently, about to get sent to prison for destroying and draining energy!_' Alectra glared. _'Ooh, I wish I was a little bigger and could strangle you!'_

"But . . . I didn't do it . . ." The raven blinked.

_'Fraggle! You did so!'_

"Wait, what is the last thing you remember?"

"I was working on fixing my tail, it had spikes and I just wanted a good club on the end." The raven absently preened. "A masculine came and offered to help . . . and before I could stop him . . . he made me stab him! It was awful . . . but beyond that, I don't remember a thing."

_'Oh.'_ Alectra paused_. 'A dominant persona . . . I thought they got wiped out.'_

"Let me guess, one of the reasons for the war?"

_'Well, yes. But I still don't trust you!'_

"This is great but how do we change back?" As soon as Martin asked, they were back to their normal selves. "Oh, that was easy . . ." He blinked. Nigel silently opened his hand, and the heart of Arcgen appeared in sphere form once more.

"Here's one, how do we get back to earth . . . and cover up our disapearance?" Eric reminded them. "Mrs. Knickerbocker and that old lady are bound to notice . . ."

_'Don't look at me, you're on your own. I'd recommend opening a fold.' _Nigel blinked, it was so strange . . . but it was like the heart spoke to him, telling him what to do. Gripping the sphere, he made a slash in the air. As the portal opened, the raven hopped onto Eric's shoulder.

"That's just creepy . . ." The raven muttered. "Wait, why are we going?"

_'Try the fact we're the last functional and alive creatures here. And the children are going to need guidance.'_

"Oh." Aesop blinked. As they landed in the antique shop, They were met by Ms. Weatherbee.

"Uh, Miss . . . "

"It's alright." The old woman smiled. "Looks like the book belongs to you."

_'And who are you, wise one?'_

"Mm . . . just an old wanderer." She opened a drawer. "Take this as well." It was an old battered compass.

"Thank you." Nigel accepted it.

"Hmph. I've done my job. Don't want to see you until you absolutely need me." She turned to leave. "Oh, and I called the school. You're not the only ones that decided to stay away with the storm. They cancelled it for today." The boys looked at each other.

"Great . . . wait, Mrs. Knickerbocker?"

"Oh, the dear returned home. She lives no too far from here." The old woman dismissed them. Outside the storm had stopped. "Good Luck, you'll need it." The boys looked back at the closed door.

"Well, that was interesting . . ." The boys chose to move to Nigel's place, as it was the closest.

* * *

Inside the shop, Ms. Weatherbee sat in an old chair. "I hope you're happy, I just got three unsuspecting Teenagers into an age old war."

"Very happy." A shadow moved. "Now the story will have an ending, and we'll be able to move on."

"Hmph. Living two centuries wasn't that bad." She grumbled.

"For you, dearest, but I've been dead that long." The shadow brushed her.

"But how do you know these three are the right ones?"

"They survived the book." The shadow whispered. "You best wake Knickerbocker from the back room, she needs to get moving." With another grumble, Ms. Weatherbee got up to do just that, leaving the shadow alone

"Yes, the story will finally end . . . but Nyx will wake now, and the worlds' hopes rest on them coming fully into their power, and soon." The shadow whispered, shivering.

* * *

In the darkened world, the dying vines suddenly snapped as a bolt of black electricity came from the sky. The large rock broke open, revealing glowing red eyes that were in the dark heart. "I live again!" The roar echoed throughout the world, and the creatures of that world lifted their heads and roared along with it. Whether it was in agreement or despair, no one would ever know.

**There, you have it . . . Read and Review**


	2. Blooming and Wilting

**Blooming and Wilting**

"Eric!" Eric grinned as Hay Lin waved to him. "When did you start hanging out with Martin?"

"Since We wound up getting stuck in the same spot during yesterday's storm." Eric shifted his bag. "He's kinda cool, in a geeky way." Hay Lin giggled. "Besides, even if he's not popular, he's a good person."

"I know." Her pigtails went over her shoulder. "Oh, look what I drew!" He blinked as she held a picture of him, in the same clothes he wore as a sentinel. "I had this strange dream the other night, and I came up with completely great story for it!" Eric's mind had shortcircuited for a moment. "Eric, is something wrong?"

"Huh, oh no!" He shook himself. "I just look a little more muscular than I should."

"Yeah, but with that outfit, I think you'd have to be."

"So what's the story?"

"Well . . . I actually haven't gotten that far with it, but I'm thinking it's going to be about a ninja that falls in love with a wind spirit . . ." As Eric mentally breathed a sigh of relief, he wondered what the other boys were going through. He'd almost spilled to Hay Lin several times during the course of that conversation.

"Hey, Nigel, what's wrong?" Taranee looked concerned at her boyfriend.

"Nothing, slight headache." Nigel rubbed his temples. As he did, the compass fell out of his jacket pocket.

"What's this?" Taranee reached for it. Without thinking, Nigel snatched it up. "Nigel?"

"Sorry, it was my great grandfathers . . . dad's gonna kill me if he finds out I brought it to school." Internally, he winced, it was a lame cover up for such a situation that shouldn't be a big deal.

"Oh, okay." He could tell she was still hurt from his reaction. But he couldn't tell her it was magic, and he wasn't sure what it would do. "So what did you get for number five?" She changed the topic quickly, but Nigel knew he had hurt her. And there was nothing he could do about it. Well, almost nothing.

Martin, surprisingly, was the only one who made through the day with out having to outright lie, but he didn't really have a girlfriend or anyone at school he was likely to blab too. However, he did have to fight the temptation to come to school as his powered up self to win over Irma . . .

* * *

If there was one thing the boys soon found out, it was that lying took a toll. Especially when odd things started to happen. At the spring dance, Eric turned into a shadow. Nigel discovered one day in gym class that he could hear people's thoughts and that had been a mess to cover. Luckily, Matt had stepped up to help.

"Nigel, is something wrong?" Even though he did corner him after gym ended.

"Just a headache . . . thanks for the cover."

"No problem." Matt smiled. "You've done the same for me." The smile vanished a minute. "You know, you once offered to listen to me if I ever had a problem . . . that's a two way door, if you ever need it." _'Like Nigel would ever get himself into the same trouble I do, but it did help when I was Shagon . . .'_ Nigel blinked, and shook his head.

"It's okay, Matt . . . I'll take you up on your offer some other time." Nigel smiled and quickly headed away. He caught one last thought.

_'Need to talk to Will about this . . . Something's not right . . .' _Nigel groaned, worried that his friend would try something rash.

Study hall was the last class and Nigel was lucky to get a computer. The new computer Teacher Sylla, was pretty cool about using the computers, heck, he was pretty much a genius when it came to them. Absently, he typed in the word he had heard from Matt.

"H-" He stopped himself from saying anything. Shagon was an ancient God of hate. He specialized in breaking lover's apart, thought he was defeated when two people's love was proven stronger than any pain he could tear them apart with. Nigel glanced over his shoulder to see Will and Matt disapear behind a book case, both with rather mushy expressions. Well, maybe Matt was just really up to date with mythology. He absently deleted the search, after he printed it. He had a bad feeling about Matt suddenly. Though to be safe, he was going to talk to Martin and Eric first thing after they got to his place.

"What does this guy have to do with anything?" Martin looked at the papers. "Other than he dosen't sound good."

"I've been hearing people's thoughts all day. I finally got things to settle, but . . . the last thought I heard was Matt's, and it was about him being this Shagon." Nigel sighed. "And you both remember when he went bad for a bit? What if he was possesed?"

'_It's possible._' Alectra looked at the paper. _'Watch it, Bird brain!_' Aesop had almost landed on her. '_but your friend wouldn't have recovered. Perhaps this Will girl helped with the legend, and broguht him back_.'

"Yeah, but . . ." Nigel stared at the paper. "I don't know, there's something about Matt that just feels wrong now. Like a string on a guitar out of tune."

"I'm tone deaf, so I haven't a clue about what you mean." Martin looked at Nigel.

"He's saying that Matt's got a bad vibe." Eric sighed. "What are you doing with that book?"

"Oh, reading it." Martin held it up. "It's Alectra and Aesop's story! Including three warriors that come to help save Alectra."

"Really?" Aesop hopped onto his shoulder.

"Yes, Though the begining, has a girl named T.W. as the heroine. She seals part of the vilain, called Nyx, into a knife, while her lover sealed Nyx's body into a world called 'Eclipse', and together they also seal the entire world of Arcgen into a book . . . this book!" Martin grinned. "Nyx the blade is actually his conscious mind/soul and it manipulates a man to corrupt Aesop and so he can take over Aesop . . . but after the three warriors from another world, us, stop him . . . the rest of the book is blank." Martin closed his eyes. "We're called Shield, Mace and Quinn, in the book."

"Right . . ." Nigel blinked at the picture of the three of them powered up. "So we're part of a story?"

"It appears that only what happens in Arcgen is written." Aesop blinked. "I can't believe . . ."

_'What, that you were that easily taken over?_' Alectra flicked her tongue at him.

"No, that our entire world fits in a book." He puffed out his chest. "You're never going to forgive me, are you?"

'_After what I went through! You're lucky I don't have hands, I'd be throttling you right now!'_

"We're called the Sentinels of Arcgen. To protect the sleeping world, and their own, from the evil of Nyx. . . oh no!" Eric gasped.

"What?"

"We didn't beat Nyx, look!" He pointed to a picture. A shadowy figure looked like it was fleeing the dragon's body. "He escaped!"

" . . ." Everyone looked at each other, then at Nigel.

"Great . . ." Nigel bowed his head. "Here I thought I would just be making sure the heart of Arcgen didn't attract any thing that wanted it . . ."

_'I'm Sorry, Sentinels, I had no idea this would happen . . .'_ Alectra apologized.

"It's okay, we'll figure it out." More and more, Nigel was starting to get the feeling that he was being dragged by a rather strong current, to a destination he wasn't so sure he wanted to go. "Right now, we just need to keep our eyes open, and on alert. And try not to use our powers in school."

"Easier said than done." Eric muttered. "Any time I feel curious about something, I go all shadowy."

"At least you guys have special powers, I've got nothing!" Martin sighed.

"Funny, we think you're the lucky one. You don't have to worry about doing something wrong." Eric gave a half smile. "Trust me, Martin, it's not all it's cracked up to be."

"Still want them." Martin mumbled.

'_Martin, I wouldn't worry, from what I can tell, their powers are stemming from the fact they had magical potential to begin with. You might not, so any other powers you develop might not be as strong or as obvious.'_

"On Arcgen, we had a saying, 'he who blooms last, blooms best.'" Aesop clacked his beak. "You might have a stronger power than they do, and so it will take more time to manifest. Alectra was a late bloomer herself, and she wound up holding the heart."

"I guess so." Martin gave a falsely cheerful smile. But inside, he ached.


	3. Dream Flight

Martin had a wonderful dream. He and a beautiful young woman were flying over a starlit ocean, and as they were flying, he pulled her close to kiss her . . . his alarm clock went off and his eyes flew open. He was floating three feet above his bed. "Whoa!" He promptly fell face down. "Well, that's pretty cool . . ." His phone rang, and he barely made out Nigel's name. "Martin, what's up."

"I am! I woke up five feet above my bed and I can't get down." Martin's shoulder's slumped. So much for him having a unique ability too.

"Uh, maybe you should think about the bed . . . try to focus on lowering yourself?" He was busy trying to remember the face of the girl from his dream.

"Martin." Nigel's voice went a little chilly. "I. Am. Floating. Over. My. Bed. And. Alectra. Already. Suggested. That. I need someone to pull me down."

"Oh . . . would a loud noise help?"

"Loud noise? Aah!" There was a crashing sound soon after. "No . . . Alectra biting my leg did the trick." Nigel's voice was a little muffled at that. "I'm okay! Just fell out of bed!" Then his voice returned to normal volume. "Okay, Thanks Martin. See you at school . . . anything new happen?" Martin hesitated, he really wanted to say he had a unique power, but . . .

"No . . . I woke up floating above my bed too."

"Oh . . . maybe we should check on Eric . . ."

"I'll call him, see you at school."

"Did you get him?" Nigel walked up. "Is he okay?" Martin just pointed to their third musketeer.

"I think Eric's more on cloud nine." Martin noted, Eric had a goofy grin on his face.

"Hay Lin agreed to watch the meteor shower this friday!" Eric grinned. Much to their shock, he started floating, and they quickly kept him grounded. "Grandpa has even agreed to get the telescope up and running . . ."

"Can you keep your feet on the ground for a minute, lover boy?" Eric reluctantly nodded. "Now, Martin . . ."

"Hey Sugar cutie!" His attention was captured by Irma.

"Hey Martin." She waved. "See you this afternoon!" She kept going. This time Eric and Nigel kept him grounded.

"Okay, I think this confirms the fact that whenever we think about our girlfriends, we can fly." Nigel muttered.

"Good dream about Taranee?"

"Nothing you need to know about." Nigel blushed. Together, the three entered the school.

* * *

Martin spent the day wishing that he had a special power. Eric's ability to become a shadow and Nigel's telepathy were so cool . . . and he had absolutely nothing. He was distracted most of the day. Even during the afternoon radio session.

"Martin, is something wrong?" Irma blocked him from leaving.

"Oh, no . . . I just . . ." Martin shrugged.

"Martin, you can tell me almost anything, you know that right?" Irma blinked her large eyes at him. "I won't laugh."

"I'm nothing special." Martin sighed. "Can't play an instrument, can't get a girl, I haven't got a single talent that makes me defined in any way!"

"Oh." Irma blinked. "Well, can't say I completely understand, I've always been uniquely me." She grinned. "But then, it's what you do that defines you, and I've been boy crazy and bossy since I was little, friends with Hay Lin for even longer, and chased by you for quite some time." She hesitated, her smile fading. "But then again, I've been lonely too." Martin made to say something but she held up her hand. "Being unique and standing out in the crowd, that's fine, but sometimes, being the only one of your kind is utterly lonely. It's more important to have friends that appreciate you, and will have your back, than to be superman and take on the world every day." Irma gave a weak smile. "So it doesn't matter if you're good at guitar or a superhero, all that matters is that you try your best at everything you do."

"Wow . . . that's deep . . ." Martin blinked.

"What, I can't be deep at times?" Irma made an annoyed face.

"Er, no, that's not," Martin panicked a moment until she laughed.

"Well, that's fine. You get labeled a deep thinker, you get pestered by questions all the time." Irma smiled as she held the door.

"Thanks Irma, you're the best."

"I know." She winked. "Oh, and Martin . . . " He turned to look at her. "Sometimes Clark Kent is a lot more important than superman, even if no one realizes it." She waved as she vanished. Martin managed to trip and fall down the stairs, landing at Nigel and Eric's feet, a smile on his face.

"Oh, hey guys . . ." The goofy smile didn't leave his face.

"You know, I shudder to think what would ever happen if Irma kissed him." Nigel glanced at Eric.

"So do I . . ." The two helped him up. "Nothing with Taranee today?"

"Nope, she's helping out at the Silver Dragon, Hay Lin's Grandma-"

"Threw her back out. I heard." the three walked by the park. "Looks like Matt and Will are having a date." The lead guitar player was laying next to Will on a blanket, the two were cloud watching."Why does that give you a bad vibe?"

"I don't know." Nigel glanced away

"Alectra did say some people have more magic than others, and power attracts power . . ." Eric offered.

"I guess." Nigel shook his head as Matt tickled Will's nose with a leaf. The redhead playfully blew the leaf into his face.

Unknown to the three boys, Matt and Will were having a similar discussion.

"You really think something's wrong with Nigel?"

"It's just a feeling, Taranee said he was really short with her the other day. I might be making a big deal out of nothing, though." Matt smiled at his girlfriend. His mom had said that highschool couples rarely survived outside of the school, some didn't make it through college. But he got the feeling that after going through so much with Will, there was no way he could ever share so much with another. Lately he started to be able to tell whenever she was in trouble, and the other day, he'd known exactly what she was thinking.

It also seemed to go both ways, too.

"Well, we'll face whatever happens together." She then jumped as her cell phone started talking to her. Matt laughed at the face she made as she started to tell it off.

* * *

"So, we're gonna train tomorrow?" Eric looked at Nigel

"Yeah, abandon construction site should work . . ." Nigel shifted his bag. "Or we could go to the woods . . ."

In the dark world, the three boys were watched in a pool of a strange oil like liquid.

"So, these are the best champions they could find?" A skeleton with glowing red eyes stared down. The remains of flesh and muscle were barely holding it together. "Three young boys, who've barely learned their powers?" The cackling laugh was horrible and gasping, and some rats skittered away. "Oh, this will be easy . . . and I have just enough power . . . to get my claws on another source of unending power!!" The liquid rippled, and images flashed on it. "The heart of this world is near . . ."

**Clearly, solitary confinement does something to peoples's heads . . . Any complaints? I don't have a beta reader, so sometimes I'll write and check over something that makes sense to me but fails to make sense to anyone else. **


	4. Training Time

"Eric, watch it!" Martin yelled. "You're supposed to hit the pole, not me!" Even in sentinel form, and with the energy toned down, the mace still stung.

"Sorry Martin." He sighed. "This was a lot easier when I wasn't trying to do it."

"Yeah, so's getting the heart to change." Nigel still held the sphere, he was trying to change it into the sword he had. Alectra was curled around his shoulders, trying to coach him. "I think you're the only one who's mastered their energy weapon, Martin, even if it's just to change the shape and size of your shield." Martin smiled, and then yelped as Eric's mace missed his target. He got the shield up quickly, and the mace clanged against it.

"Sorry!" Eric dismissed it. "I need to take a break . . ."

"Yeah, next hit might hurt someone." Aesop landed on his shoulder. "You should work on that shadow trick of yours. And maybe you should do it by **not** trying."

'_Men.' _Alectra muttered. '_You always stick together.'_

"So do you girls." Nigel smiled at her. "Ouch!"

'_We're working on telepathy, remember? And Aesop has a point you have to let it work, without forcing it.'_

'_Yes Ma'am.'_ Nigel returned his focus to the orb. So far, he's gotten it to form into a cube and a large diamond.

* * *

"The heart!" In the dark of the forgotten world, Nyx grabbed a long blackened dagger, with blood red rubies in the hilt, and a large Ruby as the pommel stone. Eerie red light glowed then flashed as the dagger accepted him. More flesh grew on his bones, but not enough to lose his skeletal look. "Now . . . for my first crows . . ." A large bat and a wolf lay slain before the throne and the pool. Slowly, they turned dark and seemed to vanish, as two shadows grew up from the same spot on the floor. They formed into a man and a woman. The woman had a sleeveless midriff baring top and a skirt that was slit up to her waist. She had fingerless fishnet gloves that went past her elbows, knee high boots and fishnet stockings. Her hair was brown and she wore a purple mask over her eyes, which were gold, and her lips were blood red. The man wore all black as well. Tunic, pants, boots and a cloak were his ensemble. He had a blood red mask over his eyes, which were soulless black orbs, and golden hair.

"My two crows . . . Will you serve me faithfully?"

"Yes!"

"You, lady crow, are Apate, deceitful as your name." He pointed the dagger at her and it flashed, the woman bowed. He then pointed the dagger at the man. "And you, you are Oizys, one who causes and feeds on suffering. I will make you more siblings as time and my power waxes." Nyx's smile was gruesome, especially as you only knew it was a smile with the light of his red eyes. "Now, I send you to a world once evil, to find me a host!" He cut through the air, creating a fold. "Do not disappoint, find me one with sorrow written on their soul!"

With a bow, Apate and Oizys left, vanishing through the portal.

* * *

In Meridian, Elyon frowned and looked up, ignoring her master of ceremonies going on about proper settings. A wave of her hand sent the exceptionally clean passling (why he loved baths while most others hated them, she didn't know, nor did she care too.) off, as she went to find the source of her sudden irritation.

"Caleb, Vathek!" Both looked up.

"What is it Your, I mean, Elyon?" Caleb moved forward.

"Something has entered Meridian near the mage's tomb. I need a squad to check it out, it doesn't feel right." She frowned. "It really doesn't feel right, but I can't seem to focus on it." Elyon turned to leave, then though of something. "Vathek, I want the prison guards on alert. The last thing we need is Phobos escaping."

"I'll warn Julian as well." Vathek nodded.

* * *

Apate and Oizys landed near a water fall. Apate quietly looked around. "Such a bright place . . ."

"But not without its share of suffering . . ." Oizys smiled. "Someone's in pain . . . and it feels good . . ." He turned into a large bat. Apate frowned, and then turned into a wolf. Together they took off, hunting.

* * *

Julian had chosen to go on a ride, needing to try and clear his head. It didn't help that he was literally carrying the reason for his confusion in his pocket. Nerissa, as the woman he'd fallen in love with, had been wonderful. She and him had lived together with Caleb, until Phobos claimed power and Elyon had been spirited away. Then, as the Mage, she had feared Phobos, had made him take Caleb with him, so Phobos couldn't have a hold on her. It had been sound reasoning, few knew the mage and he were lovers, and no one knew that they had a child. Caleb didn't even remember the three years spent with his mother.

How could she do this? He knew that not all of their time had been an act, so why?

He wished he knew, but she had already killed her own friend, long before she had met him. Silently, he maneuvered his horse to the side, lost in his ever spiraling thoughts.

**Short chapter next will be longer.**


	5. Stolen Away

"Something was here, alright." Caleb let the senior tracker take over. "Shape shifter, I think . . . tracks go this way."

"Then let's go." Caleb ignored the cold sensation in his gut. Something bad was going to happen; he felt it deep in his heart. He also knew that time was not their friend right now.

* * *

Julian almost went over the front of his horse as it came to a sudden halt. Glancing up, he saw a large black wolf in front of him. For a moment, nothing moved, and then he tried to whirl his horse around. The horse turned, and then reared as a bat flew in front of it.

"Perfect." The voice came from the bat, and Julian almost slipped off the saddle. The wolf moved suddenly, knocking him out of the saddle and on the ground. The horse took off running, while the bat and wolf turned into masked humans. "You'll do nicely- ah!" The bat yelped as Julian got his sword out and scored a hit.

"Very nicely, indeed." The woman smiled. "My turn." Julian blinked as suddenly the world went black. "My illusions are frightfully real, aren't they?" He heard sounds, a pack of wolves howling, wings flapping, but he couldn't figure out where the man or woman was.

"What do you want?"

"You."

"Dad!" Caleb's shout made Julian's hope lift. Before something slammed into his head and everything went truly black.

Caleb was off the horse the moment it stalled, refusing to keep going. Sword out, he saw the man knock his father out. "Leave him alone!"

"Sorry, but he's the one we want." The woman blocked him with a black feather like sword. "Oizys, go!"

"No, Dad!" Caleb suddenly gasped as a virtual flood of wolves hit him and pinned him down. Struggling to get back up, the wolves suddenly vanished.

"A . . . illusion?" Blinked Raythor.

"A good one." Muttered Drake. Caleb stared at the spot where the man and woman had been.

"My father . . . they took him . . ." Caleb snapped himself out of the momentary blank. "We need to get back to Queen Elyon, now. Dad might've had Nerissa's prison with him."

"That's all we need . . . that sorceress back." Raythor picked up Julian's sword. "Looks like he scored a good hit though . . . we can use this." They headed straight for the castle.

After explaining things to Queen Elyon, they waited a minute for her to respond.

"Where is Blunk?" Elyon looked at Caleb. "You need to get to the guardians to alert them. I'm going to Candracar . . . Raythor, you're with me while Drake stays here to keep an eye on everything . . ."

"I think he's with his mom, somewhere . . ." Caleb sighed. "I'll find him."

"Sandpit can help." Raythor's offer was barely met with a nod. "Last thing we need is the sorceress coming back."

"That might be preferable, Raythor. Better the evil we know rather than the evil we don't." Elyon sighed. "Let's go."

* * *

Martin had the dream again, this time, him and the girl were standing on a cliff over the moon and starlit ocean. Her blue eyes were sparkling, and he caught a glimpse of blue-green wings over her shoulder.

"I've waited for you for a long time . . . will you be with me forever?" He wanted to answer, he really did, but there was black lightning in the background suddenly, and he woke with a start. He was on his bed, and he glanced at the clock. One a.m. He groaned and pulled his covers over his head.

"Just once, I'd like to finish that dream." He muttered. He fell asleep and hoped to return to his pleasant dream, but instead he was in a destroyed Heatherfield, barren and lifeless. "Hello?" He began to panic when he saw the first car, and the skeleton arm dangling out of it. Trying to find someone, anyone, he raced towards the school. Skeletons, though with full heads of hair and clothes, were strewn about. He recognized the Grumpers, Alchemy, Uriah and his cronies, Kinckerbocker . . . but he didn't see Irma or her friends. _Maybe they survived. _His feet began to move, and he next found himself at the mall. There on the ground, was a masked angel, holding a red haired fairy winged girl. They were holding onto one another, but he knew they were dead. Not too far from them was a similar fairy girl, this one with blonde hair, with her face hidden in the chest of a brown-wearing, brown-haired man, though he couldn't make out the face. Farther beyond, he saw two more fairy girls, one with low pigtails and the other with tendrils. They were lying face down, two hands outstretched and tendril girl had her hand under pigtails. There were two beasts, one with dark fur and the other with light fur. "Oh man . . ." He didn't want to keep going, but he was forced to. There, lying in a puddle of water, was his brown haired fairy. He couldn't stop to mourn her, his body was forced forward, and the inside of the mall had changed to a throne room. On either sides of the throne, Eric and Nigel, in full sentinel form were chained spread-eagle and suspended above the ground and neither was moving. "No!" A cackling laugh, sounded, and before he could look at the throne, he woke up gasping.

Making sure he was in his room, he glanced outside. A car drove past, and Heatherfield wasn't barren of life. Glancing at the clock, he sighed. It was a half hour till he had to get up. "What a weird dream." He muttered at the ceiling, already the horror he had felt diminishing.

**Okay, so Martin snuck in at the end, but still . . . and this chapter was short because something about my computer glitched up . . . **


	6. Unknown Danger

Julian woke up on a cold rock slab. His body was stiff, and his head was killing him.

"What a delicious Pick, my children. Not much magic . . . but I shall change that." Julian recoiled at the sight of the skeleton. "Sorry for my . . . appearance, but being locked up for centuries does that . . ." He held up the necklace. "Such a lovely lady inside . . ."

"Give her back!"

"Oh, I intend to. But first . . . you have something I want even more." The skeleton put the necklace down, and got up from the throne. "Flesh . . ." Julian's attempt to escape failed. Despite barely being held together, the skeleton's arms held tight. The next thing he knew . . . he was falling backwards into a dark pit as the skeleton laughed. Then everything went dark.

* * *

"Where is Blunk?!" Caleb scowled as he and Sandpit exited Blunk's treasure cave. "His mama hasn't seen him, either . . . where could he be?" Sandpit shrugged, changing to look more like Caleb. "C'mon, we need to check with the traders . . . maybe he's there. I just hope he's not on earth."

Unfortunately, that's **exactly** where the passling smuggler was.

"Blunk!" Cornelia glared at the passling. "What are you doing here?"

"Uh, Pretty girl let Blunk sell baubles?" The passling blinked at the angry earth guardian. "Split profit, 60/40?" She telekinetically took back the jewelry.

"What have we told you about stealing from us?"

"Blunk not steal . . ." He shied away from the glare. "Okay, but pretty girl not wear them!"

"Not the point!" Cornelia was really grateful that her family was gone for the week, a work related trip for her dad, that Lillian and her mom went on as well. "I think I ought to teach you a lesson . . ." She took the tooth. "You don't get this back until after I'm done with you, are we clear?" It was a moment she would come to regret, later, but for right now . . .

"Yes Pretty Girl." Blunk pouted.

* * *

"During Spring Break Wreck's got a gig in the next town over." Matt held Will's hand as they moved down the street. "Think your mom will let you come?"

"I doubt it, we're planning to get away for a girl's only vacation. No boyfriends, just some quality mother daughter bonding on the beach." She made a face. "Which is usually the time when something comes out of the woodwork."

"You know how to teletransport now." He squeezed her hand. "I heard Irma and Hay Lin were planning something similar with their moms, though Irma said it was she and her mom could escape the 'guyness' in her house." Will laughed at that. "So, you're not coming . . . that's going to be boring."

"Just keep out of trouble?" She smiled, leaning a bit against him.

"Considering I'm usually following you into it?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Good point . . ." They kissed, then broke apart when someone coughed. "Mom!" Mrs. Vandom and Mr. Collins were standing right there. Will began to turn red.

"Always the worst point for your mother and her boyfriend to come in, What were you talking about?"

"Mysteries of life, School . . . we're pretty sure they're related." Will hugged her mother. "What are you doing?"

"Well, Dean and I were going home to watch a movie . . . would you like to make it a double date?"

"What movie?"

"First Lord of the Rings. I only saw part of it." Susan held up the DVD. "I'm aware it's a school night, but Dean isn't free this weekend, and it is Thursday."

"Yeah, she fell asleep halfway through." Will grinned. "Sounds good to me, what do you think, Matt?"

"Depends, am I gonna get in trouble if I fall asleep on Will?"

"I think I'll forgive you this time." The four spent a very good evening, watching the movie and having pizza.

Cleaning after the two guys had gone home, Will looked at her mother. "Well?"

"He's a good boy Will . . . I believe you have my blessing on dating him, as long as you two stay . . . age appropriate."

"Thanks Mom." Will smiled. For her, the day ended on a high note.

* * *

"Argh!" Taranee screamed into her pillow. Her mom was starting to distrust Nigel again. _Well, think about the fact she doesn't know you can, and have, toast people who attack you. She's just protecting you._

_For something completely mundane! I've face giant snakes, monsters, squads of soldiers, Nigel or any guy, is nothing!_ Taranee screamed into her pillow again. Sometimes, her mother being a judge was a real pain. _Heck, I can even take out a soldier with a sword without powers now! Real glad Will insisted on that training with Caleb . . ._ Taranee just groaned into her pillow. It was going to be a long week.

"Taranee!"

Make that a very long week.

* * *

Irma, meanwhile, was enjoying a nice long bubble bath with some sappy music playing. With the door securely locked, she began playing with her water. Without thinking, she made water 'doll' versions of her friends in guardian form and their boyfriends, with her water doll standing alone. "Wish I had a boyfriend . . . Will has Matt, Cornelia has Caleb . . . Taranee has Nigel and even Hay Lin found someone before I did . . . how fair is that?" The other water dolls returned into the bath, but she kept hers up. "Wish I had a knight to come to my aid."

"Irma, hurry up!" The doll went back into the water as she sighed.

"I will!" She smirked. "After I turn my music up."

* * *

"Easy, Hay Lin." 'Mira' Lin took a tray from her hands. "If you carry too much, you might drop it."

"Sorry, I'm a little distracted . . ." Hay Lin smiled.

"Planning for a good date is always distracting." Mira nodded. "Try not to think of it too much."

"What have I told you about stealing my lines?" Huffed Yan Lin as she entered. Hay Lin smiled as her two grandmothers argued. You'd never realize that one was actually an altermere. And the arguments they had were pretty mundane, and funny, including who should wear a different color. (Mira finally agreed to wear a burgundy color.) "Besides, the date is tomorrow. Don't worry until then."

**there, a longer chapter . . . don't know what was with the other one though . . . **


	7. Crash Test

"I'm waiting for you." Martin's head jerked up at the sound of the fairy's voice. It was dark and stormy, and he couldn't see her. "Find me so we can be together . . ."

"Where are you?" Why couldn't he see her anymore? "Who are you?"

"Martin . . ." The storm got worse. "Martin!" He tried to fly, but mud seemed to suck him down, a man lunged at him with a knife.

"MARTIN!"

"Gah!" He jumped and fell out of bed. "You're going to be late, dear!"

"Okay Mom!" Martin shook his head. "T.G.I.F." He muttered as he looked at the calendar. "I liked my dreams better when there wasn't a storm."

* * *

"Hey Martin, you're a little late today." Irma was setting up the radio equipment.

"Had a real bad dream." He slumped into a chair and put his heads in his hands. "Irma, serious question . . . do you believe in soul mates?"

"I believe some people have them." Irma looked at him. "I mean, there are obviously some people not suited for marriage, but those that are, I'm pretty sure a good portion of them find the guy or girl they can spend their life with." She pulled a chair over. "Why? You find a girl you like better than me?"

"No, I don't think so." Martin glanced up. "I just . . . well, It's kinda depressing seeing everyone else pairing off, and Valentines day is coming up . . . and I don't have anyone, again."

"I don't count?"

"Well . . . I'll always love you, passion flower, but, this is school, things'll change."

"Okay, Irma Lair's advice for today, Live in the now, and worry about tomorrow when it comes. Stressing out won't get you anywhere." Irma glanced up. "Now, we've got a radio to record. Mic check!"

"As you wish, sugar cutie."

* * *

"Well, how do I look?" In the darkened world, Nyx adjusted his cloak. The man, Julian, had put up a pretty good fight, but it wasn't enough to stop Nyx from merging into his body, and locking Julian's conscious away. Nyx smirked, it hadn't taken much magic to adjust the body to be a little younger and not as frail, surprisingly. Apate and Oizys were kneeling just behind him, not looking at his face. Only one thing remained from Nyx, and that was his red eyes.

"Excellent my lord . . . what are your next orders?"

"I think it's time to have a formal introduction to the three warriors . . . But be nice, it's important to make a good first impression."

"As you command." As they disappeared though the fold, Nyx held up Nerissa's prison.

"Now . . . What to do with you . . ." The woman's eyes remained closed. "Well, I suppose first things first, my dear . . . I'll need to have someone more trustworthy than my two crows to keep you hidden . . . and I need to find the guardians of Candracar . . . if there are any." His Red eyes glinted in the light. "My host will probably have some information on that . . . Things tend to pile up, when you've been forgotten for centuries."

* * *

"Hello Sheffield!" Irma grinned as her voice came over the loudspeaker, pre-recording was so much fun. "Irma Lair here with weather and news, it's going to be a good sunny day, with slight chance of clouds and even slighter chance of rain. The wonderful Yan Lin and Mira Lin from the Silver Dragon have come for this week until the end of March to cook, so remember to thank them. Our Basketball team is currently five and O, we've got a game this afternoon, so come and cheer on our boys! Big news in entertainment today, Karmilla and Vance Michael Justin are doing a concert together, so best start booking those tickets now!"

"I'm going to pretend I understand all the screams from the girls." Matt muttered to Nigel.

"Especially your girl, right?"

"Especially her." Matt stared at the math on the board. "I hate Math." Nigel nodded, letting the teacher's lecture go over his head. He took notes, but his attention was more on Matt. Why did his friend bother him so much?

'_Probably because you've never realized how much magic still exists in your world.'_ Nigel almost broke his pencil, and quickly ducked his head to hide his widening eyes.

'_Alectra, what are you doing?'_

'_That compass you left here, it's going bonkers. Something's happening, you need to get here right away!'_

'_It's the middle of school!' _Nigel glanced at the clock, then at the loudspeaker. _'Martin, Eric, it's Nigel.'_ His friends' mind-voices took a minute to respond.

'_What's wrong?'_

'_There's a problem, we've got to get out of school.'_

'_I can pull the fire alarm . . .I don't leave fingerprints as a shadow.'_

'_We need something better than that. We need school to get cancelled.'_

'_It's the best we've got.'_

'_We really need to work on excuses . . .'_ Nigel shifted, as the fire alarm went off just after the bell, making chaos in the halls. In the ensuing chaos, Nigel managed to slip away unnoticed.

* * *

"Irma!" Cornelia managed to gracefully move through the crowd to the water guardian's side.

"Yeah Corny?"

"I've got a Blunk problem." Tossing her hair over her shoulder, She was grateful no one was near enough to listen. (Not like they would have heard with the alarm going off, but still)

"What did he do?"

"Tried to make off with some jewelry." Irma stopped and looked at her. "What?"

"Blunk may not be a great guy, but I doubt he'd actually steal valuable stuff. Especially from us." Irma blinked. "Wait, he took stuff out of your mis-match box?"

"Well, yes! But that still doesn't change the fact he was stealing it from me."

"Cornelia, anytime you lose an earring or wind up with an accessory that no longer matches your clothes, you put it in that box. You never even wear those things."

"Not the point Irma! He was going to take it without my permission. That's why I'm ticked!"

"What did you do to him?"

"I locked him in the shower. He can't get out, but I need a better punishment than that!"

"In the _shower_?" Irma grinned. Cornelia blinked, then smiled.

"You know, I had almost forgotten about that."

"I'll help you out, then. After school?"

"Works for me, I put the tooth in a safe place, he can't escape." They joined the others in waiting for the all clear to sound out and order to be restored.

* * *

"Well, what is it?" Martin and Eric looked over Nigel's shoulder. The compass was unusual in that it had two needles, one silver, the other red and blue.

'_It was floating and the silver needle was spinning like crazy earlier. Now all it does is point in the same direction.'_ Alectra climbed onto Nigel's shoulder. '_The other seems stuck on north.'_

"Then we need to go that way . . . towards Shell Beach." Martin looked at Nigel.

"Yeah . . ." Nigel took a breath. "Let's go."

At Shell Cave, Apate and Oizys appeared.

"Another bright world . . ." Apate looked around. "I wonder why?"

"It's just how this world is, Apate, now shut up." Oizys hissed. "They're coming." He studied the three boys coming, the leader taking point.

"Who are you?" The lead boy stepped up.

"We are the servants of Nyx. We have come to find the heart of Arcgen." Oizys stepped forward. "Hand it over."

"I don't think so." Nigel felt the heart come out of his hand. "Sentinels, Awake!" The transformation got easier every time they did it.

"This is going to be fun." Apate smiled. Then the two sides clashed.

"Aah!" Eric fell back as Oizys scored a hit to his chest, his left hand had claws extended.

"Mace!" Martin got a shield up. "Oh man . . ." Blood trickled from the wound.

"Shield . . ." Eric coughed. More blood started to seep out. Martin blanked for a minute. The next thing he was conscious of, was his right hand pressed on the wound, and it was glowing. A minute later, the wound was completely gone. "How?"

"Guess I do have a special ability, after all." Martin smiled.

"Cool." Eric then swung his mace at Oizys, knocking the man into the rocks.

"Shield, heads up!" Nigel's warning was almost too late. Apate almost sliced him with her feather sword. Martin got the energy shield up just in time. Nigel dove in and parried Apate's blade. "What do you want?"

"What do we want?" Apate smirked. "The heart, what else?" She then back flipped away as Eric's mace hit where she had been standing. "But we can wait for now, this is just the first of many fights, Sentinels . . . round two won't be so easy!" Grabbing Oizys, she mockingly blew a kiss goodbye. Then they vanished through a fold.

"Damn." Nigel muttered. "Everyone okay?"

"We're fine . . . but that was way too close." Martin sighed. "Okay, Now we know who our villains are . . ."

"Just barely . . ." Nigel looked at them. "Think we can sneak back to school or something? I have a test last period."

"We can try . . ." The boys powered down. Luck was on their side as chaos still reigned in the halls. The loudspeaker was hissing static and the lights were flickering.

"Wonder what caused it?"

What caused it was one Red headed guardian, who when the fire alarm went off accidentally hit a switch box with her powers. She was trying to repair the damage, though the panic she was feeling wasn't helping. Eventually, the power just went out.

Raphael Sylla frowned a bit as the lights went out. "Well, so much for a normal . . ." Sylla sighed. "Girls didn't even leave . . ."

* * *

"Well done, my crows . . ." Nyx smiled. "I'm sure the boys will get much stronger in time."

"But shouldn't we crush them before that?" Oizys winced as a bolt of blood red magic hit him.

"Do not question me . . ."

"Forgive me saying so, my lord, but I do wish to know why we cannot take out the sentinels now." Apate tensed, ready for a blow.

"The heart of Arcgen is unique, the boys must be stronger before we can take it, and that is all you need to know." Nyx smiled. "For now, they can only wait for our next move, their teachers will not let them cross the dimensions to find us, yet. Apate, you must take advantage of the folds that cross **time** as well as dimensions . . . You need to intergrate into their world smoothly."

"They won't even know I'm there." Apate promised.

"Good . . . I want you to also look for those I can make into your siblings . . . humans that are close to those boys, preferably. But take your time . . . you three are strong enough for now."

"Three?" Oizys blinked, there was just him and Apate.

"Oizys, You need to start stirring the water to gain the attention of the guardians . . . and you shall have help." One of the trolls stepped forward, muscular and holding a club, the only thing that separated it from it's brethren was the armor it wore, instead of the loincloth the others preferred. "Meet your brother, Moros." Moros grunted, and obediently walked to stand behind Oizys. "Now, it's time to start my little game anew . . ."

**Sorry for the wait . . . the holidays kinda stopped me from posting . . . **

**Next up: Some new players, and a few fleeting doubts from Martin about what the sentinels stand for . . . **


	8. Progression

Martin opened his locker with a sigh. Talk about a hectic day . . . and Alectra wanted a talk with him, after the news that he healed Eric. All he really wanted to do was curl into a ball in his bed and take a nap. He was drained.

"Hey, Martin!!" He absently jerked as his friend, Jay, came running up, Shouting at him in the nasal whine that made everyone else cringe and want to shut him up. Glasses that were thicker than martin's made his eyes appear larger. "Look what I found! It's one of the books that you can write your own ending! Totally perfect for our Bears meeting tonight . . . I got several!" Martin blinked as the book was shoved into his face. The cover had a knight and a dragon battling, with a princess in a tower behind them.

"Thanks Jay . . ." Martin just couldn't bring himself to be as excited as he took the book. All the fantasy roleplays he'd down were now . . . well, kinda boring, considering he was now part of an adventure with real magic and knights. And he just had a battle with two villains . . .

"Martin, what's wrong man?" Jay blinked up at him. "You don't sound like yourself . . ."

"Hm? Oh, I think I'm coming down with something . . . I'm not going to make it to the meeting tonight."

"Again?!" Jay whined, and Martin suddenly realized how . . . weak and annoying Jay's voice was. He absently tightened his hand holding the book. "But Martin, you haven't shown up for weeks! They're talking about kicking you out!" Martin just looked at him. Jay was starting to work himself from annoying to annoyingly pathetic. "What could be more important than your friends?!"

"It's nothing personal, I've just had a lot on my plate lately, Jay." Martin sighed.

"I'll bet you have, hanging out with Nigel and the Newbie Eric!" Jay continued in his whining voice. "Man, they're not your friends! They're probably using you! Like that chick Irma!" Martin's mouth dropped. "I can't believe you're blowing your true friends off for them! They don't even care about you like we do! They-"

"Shut up!" Martin hissed, angry. Jay was shocked into silence. "You don't know anything, Jay. Irma's a nice girl, and Nigel and Eric aren't using me! So just stay out of my business!!" Martin couldn't believe how thick Jay was being.

"Martin . . ." Jay whined with a sniff. "They've totally changed you, man! They're not your friends, if you don't figure that soon, you'll wind up with none!" Jay then ran away. Probably to cry, Martin thought, disgusted. Turning back to his locker, he absently adjusted the magnetic mirror to be higher. The darn thing kept slipping down. Then he closed his locker and started walking.

_Jay's right about one thing, I have changed . . . _

* * *

"Goodness . . ." Mrs. Knickerbocker sighed. What a day! "And I still have to interview the new transfer student and the new school counselor . . ." A knock on the door made her straighten. "Come in!" A young girl with long dark hair and brown eyes walked in. "Ah, Miss Mandy, how good of you to be on time."

"Thank you for accepting me, Mrs. Kinckerbocker."

"Um, I'm sorry to interrupt, but this is the main office, correct?" A beautiful woman with brown hair cut short looked in. "I'm Ms. Dea Eppson . . ."

"Ah yes, yes, you're in the right place. Mandy, Ms. Eppson is going to be the new counselor here. She'll also be responsible for helping you adjust."

* * *

"Have fun Hay Lin." That night, Hay Lin was all a flutter in anticipation. She could barely keep herself grounded (Not her fault, but she needed to work on that.)

"Hey You . . ." Eric handed her a helmet. He had a motor scooter that could carry both of them. She hugged him from behind as they took off.

* * *

Nigel had a splitting headache. Most of it was from the test he had taken and the noise at school. Eric was on a date and Martin was . . . somewhere. Nigel looked at the antique store that had started this entire mess. The door opened before he could knock.

"Hello, I was expecting you." Nothing was there, but the voice was masculine, with a thick English accent. "Don't be scared, I won't harm you." Nigel finally focused on a shadow.

"Who are you?"

"My name's no longer important, but I guess you could call me Shade, for right now."

"Shade?" Nigel blinked. "But that's the name of T.W.'s boyfriend in that book."

"You actually read it? Well, that makes it easier." The shadow brushed by him. "Come on in, sit . . . I'll answer some of your questions, but not all of them."

"Why are you like that? I mean?"

"I had to sacrifice my body to save Arcgen . . . It seems the heart of Arcgen always prefers to have at least three warriors." Shade satyed close. "Alectra was the daughter of the woman that we teamed up with . . ."

"You were a sentinel?"

"Yes, Arcgen has three elements, light, dark and, well, I suppose you could say quintessence or life as the third, the Arcgenians called it Psyche."

"Just three?"

"A different mythology." Shade whispered. "I was the dark element . . . T.W., the light."

"Er-Mace turns into shadow . . . Shield heals."

"As time goes on, you'll develop other gifts." Shade seem to have not heard exactly what Nigel said. "Psyche knows the living things, darkness finds those already hidden, light finds things that will be hidden. And all three see things as they are."

"I don't get it."

"You will . . . just think about it." With that, Nigel was gently pushed towards the door. The conversation was over. Reluctantly, Nigel left.

"All this thinking is giving me headache . . ." He sighed, then headed home to take a nap.

* * *

"Yagh!" Blunk yelled as water with soap splashed him again. "Blunk promise to never take Pretty girl's things without asking first!!"

"Promise?" Cornelia smiled, super-sweet.

"Yes, yes, swear on Tonga tooth!! Let Blunk go?"

"Okay." Cornelia dropped the tooth into the shower. Blunk grabbed it and quickly folded out. "Thanks Irma."

"No problem Corny!" Irma fixed up the bathroom. "Wanna see the newest VMJ movie? It's in town tonight, and everyone else declined."

"Really? Why?"

"Will and her Mom are having a shopping trip, Taranee refused to go because of the last time we tried to see a premier, and Hay Lin is with Eric. So what do you say?" Irma held up two tickets. "Besides, I could only afford two tickets, and you've been spending way too much time in meridian with Caleb lately."

"Yeah, I haven't been up to date on anything pop-culture lately . . ." Cornelia snagged the spare ticket. "You can even borrow one of my costumes."

* * *

"Whew . . . Blunk finally escaped . . ." Blunk started to walk home, exhausted. "Blunk gonna sleep in Blunk's bed for good long while . . ." He tripped and landed in mud. "Or, Blunk nap here a bit . . ."

**Next up, worlds collide . . . and some romance!**


	9. Collision Course Part 1

**Collision Course Part 1**

Nigel had settled onto his bed, fully intending to sleep until the weekend came, when there was a flutter of wings and Aesop landed on his shoulder. "Now what?" Nigel groaned.

"Sorry, I was just wondering if I could stay here tonight, since Eric's with his feminine."

"That's something that I've been meaning to ask- do you not have a sex?"

"Mm, not as you humans would view it. To create new life, we have to meet someone with compatible CSA and it doesn't have to be different genders . . . we also have a 'neuter' gender, for those that become plants and buildings." Aesop hoped onto Nigel's spare pillow, the one he used to smother his alarm clock in the mornings. "And we don't give live birth; we're incapable of it, so our sparkles are grown in tubes. Alectra and I aren't compatible partners . . . your view of siblings is different to ours as well." Aesop added at Nigel's look. "Siblings for us are those we choose to experience life with, I suppose you would think of us as childhood friends. It's rare for us to have lifelong mates as you humans do, we usually change every year or so, depending on our moon. I find our way of life much simpler than yours, especially with your cultures fascination with sex." Nigel choked. "We'll just have to agree to disagree on that." Aesop then bundled into the pillow.

"Aesop?"

"Yes, Nigel?"

"You have a different mythology than earth, right? Especially with elements . . . could you tell me more?"

"Of course. At the start of our world, the world was just a large metal sphere . . . with a moon and a sun that always circled, so light and dark sometimes shared the planet." Aesop shifted a bit on the pillow. "One day, a part of the metal bubbled, and a sentient sphere rose from the planet. That sphere turned the techno-organic world into a living one, after making a deal with the light and dark so that the three would work in harmony to protect their world. The sphere became our world's heart, and the light and the dark always stay with it." Aesop looked up a bit, "Arcgen, however, has only has three sentinels when danger and destiny collide. Most of the time, there is either light or dark with the heart's bearer, or even just the heart's bearer."

"You believe in destiny?"

"Yes . . . especially when it comes to magic." The conversation finally ended, and the two unlikely bedfellows fell asleep.

* * *

'_What's this?' _Alectra studied the book Martin had received from Jay.

"It's a book where you can write your own ending. See? The last pages are blank . . ." Martin trailed off, and glanced at the book of Arcgen. "I wonder . . ." He absently picked up alectra and walked over to the book. His Uncle Thom had given him an old fashioned inkwell and quill, and he had learned calligraphy in an attempt to impress girls. It hadn't worked out yet. Taking the quill, he dipped it in ink, and had barely put a drop of ink on the page when letters began to form. "Wow . . ." Before his eyes, illustrations appeared, of everything that had happened since their return to good ol' earth.

'_Look at the book's spine!' _Alectra saw the letters glow. Martin looked, and found the book to have changed its title. In golden letters outlined with black and tinged with purple, the title had now changed to _The Sentinels of Arcgen. 'I have never seen magic like this!'_

"Neither have I." Martin gave a small smile. "But there are still blank spots in the pages."

* * *

Hay Lin happily snuggled against Eric as the two lay on the roof of the observatory. The meteor shower wasn't supposed to pass by yet, but that was no excuse not to get some cuddle time. Glancing at the stars, Hay Lin put her head on his chest.

Eric, like Hay Lin, was happy with the cuddle time. It seemed he hadn't been able to get any lately, with his powers acting up and him trying to keep his new abilities a secret. He still cringed when he had been forced to ditch her at the spring dance when he'd been able to stop parts of his body from going all shadowy. Thankfully, she had bought the 'got really sick and wasn't able to tell her 'cause Granddad had whisked him to home.' Truth being Martin had helped him get home, and Aesop had coached him to change back. Smiling, he wrapped both arms around his girlfriend. Life was getting better. Hay Lin's head moved to look up at him, and the two kissed, starting to make out.

When they came up for air, they were both floating five feet above the roof. And both had similar thoughts running through their heads.

'_The others are going to kill me._'

* * *

"What do you mean, Nerissa's prison was stolen?!" Luba growled, annoyed. Elyon kept her face blank. Strangling the Aurameres's keeper wasn't something a Queen should do.

"Just as I said, two unknown enemies kidnapped Julian, and took the jewel Nerissa is imprisoned in." Elyon repeated, looking at the oracle. "Have you seen them before?"

"I am afraid that I have not been able to completely purge Nerissa's influence from myself." The Oracle's arms folded into his sleeves. "It may take some time."

"We don't have time, if that sorceress is set free-"

"Easy Raythor." Elyon put a hand on his shoulder. "We're all aware of what may happen." She then glanced at the Oracle. "I have another question."

"I thought you might, continue, please." The oracle kept his face calm.

"With the danger of the unknown enemy, and the potential for Nerissa's return, I thought it might be . . . prudent for me to give some power to a select few. Much like the guardians or the regents of earth, but still retain power myself."

"That is a sound thought, your highness." Eldorne nodded.

"If you give some power away, even if you fall, Meridian will still be protected." Halinor smiled.

"Your decision is a sound one, but what is your question?"

"How do I do it?" Elyon gave a half smile.

"I will be able to help you with that." Kadma spoke up. She had been visiting Halinor. "Have you decided who shall receive your power?"

"Yes."

* * *

In Meridian, Aldarn rode up to Caleb and Sandpit. "Any luck?" Sandpit shook it's head and vanished down the hill towards a pond.

"No!" Caleb looked ready to hit something. "Where could that stupid, smelly-" He and Aldarn were almost suffocated as Sandpit suddenly slammed into them. "Sandpit!!" The sand formed into a dog like creature, adopting the pointing position. The two almost slid down the hill to find Blunk snoozing in the mud.

"BLUNK!!" Both Merdianites yelled, waking the passling.

"Blunky-boo didn't do it!" Blunk jumped into a rather pathetic defensive stance. "Oh, it's Caleb and Aldarn and Sandy-pit." He relaxed a hair. "Blunk thought you were girls."

Sandpit didn't react to that statement, but Caleb and Aldarn just shared a confused look.

"Where have you been Blunk? We've needed to get to earth for hours." Caleb chose to move past the questions that statement raised.

"Blunk been on earth. Pretty girl got mad at Blunk and flirty girl gave him a bath!" The second part suddenly registered. "Blunk not going back! They'll still be angry!"

"Okay, you don't have to go, but we do." Caleb frowned. "My father's been kidnapped, and we need the guardians!"

"Oh, that's different." Blunk blinked. He opened a fold, and the four quickly went through.

"Well, so much for sweeping the basement." All four sheepishly looked up at Yan Lin. "I take it there's an emergency."

"Yes, can you use the speaking device to call Will?"

"Will and Matt are on a date. You're better off finding Taranee." Yan Lin then got a hat and some clothes. "Caleb blends better than you, Aldarn."

"Blunk stay here . . . any soup for Blunk?" Sandpit also seemed inclined to stay with the elderly former guardian.

"Uh, Caleb, how do I put these on?" Aldarn stared at the strange clothes. Caleb sighed, and helped his friend. Sandpit picked up a broom and began to sweep some of his residual sand up.

A few minutes later, Aldarn and Caleb were walking towards Taranee's place.

"This world is so different from ours." Aldarn commented. "Especially those strange metal carriages."

"I know. C'mon, Taranee's only a few blocks from the swimming center." As they turned a corner, Aldarn collided with a person coming from the opposite direction.

"Oh!" The girl squeaked, her bag falling open. "Sorry!"

"No, it's my fault, let me help you." Aldarn helped her pick the stuff up. Caleb hadn't stopped moving when Aldarn had, so he was standing almost a block away, waiting. They both reached for the girl's compact at the same time, hands touching. Aldarn glanced up at her face, and she in turn glanced at him. She had big chocolate eyes and long jet black hair, she wasn't overly tan, but she wasn't pale either.

* * *

Mandy had been coming home from a swim practice gone slightly wrong. Shelley ("Smelly" as Will had whispered to her one day when Shelley had gone off on one of her 'pay attention to me' tangents) had decided to pick on her that day. Shelley was one of those girls that thought the world and everyone on it revolved around her. Will and Matt had been there, but the final cut had come when Matt and Will left a minute before her.

"_You're so pathetic." Shelley sneered in the locker room. "Needing to try and steal another girl's boyfriend!"_

"_What are you talking about?"Mandy shouldn't have responded, but the words slipped out._

"_It's so obvious! You're trying to steal Matt back from Will!" Shelley announced with the air of someone who knew everything. _

"_Wha- No I'm not! Matt's just my friend, and so is Will! I'd never hurt either of them like that!" _

"_Oh, I'm sure." Shelley practically purred. Mandy had made a quick bee-line for the exit, but she hadn't gotten out in time. She heard Shelley's next words. "Slutty Whore." After that, her legs carried her away from Shelley and her venom as fast as they could._

But even the distance didn't leave the hurtful words behind. Mandy could still hear them ringing after her . . . up until she collided with someone.

Now her eyes were locked with a slightly older boy's face, with kind eyes and a slight yellow tint to his skin. _He must have Jaundice, mom said that turned the skin yellow._ And some bandages on his cheeks. His hand was callused but warm against her own. He took her breath away. Then he blinked, and gently picked up her compact to hand to her, helping her up in the same movement. "Thank you . . ." She took her compact back.

"No problem, like I said, it was my fault for not looking." Mandy felt like melting when she heard him speak. "Are you alright?"

"Huh- oh, Yeah!" Mandy blinked, "Why?"

"You're, uh, still holding my hand." Mandy promptly turned a shade of crimson, and dropped the strange boy's hand. The boy's friend yelled at him to hurry up. "See you around?" But he was quick to take off.

"God, I hope so." Mandy began heading home, this time at a slightly slower pace.

* * *

"What the heck was that?" Caleb looked at his friend as they headed towards Taranee's.

"An earth girl." Aldarn blinked. "A pretty one." Caleb shook his head. "What?"

"Just focus for right now?" Caleb sighed. And so Aldarn reluctantly pushed the thought of the earth girl to the back of his mind.

Taranee glared at her ceiling. Her mom and dad were out at the courthouse, Peter was off dating Cassidy. Or, as he put it, a dinner between friends. That left her home, alone, and grounded. Going to the door that led to her balcony, she jumped a foot in the air as a face appeared.

"Taranee!"

"Caleb?" She opened the door, and was surprised when he and Aldarn came in. "What are you doing here?"

"My father's been kidnapped and Nerissa's prison was stolen! We need your help!"

"You mean, you need me to call everyone."

"If you want to put it that way, yes." Aldarn sighed.

'_Guys, we've got a W.I.T.C.H. emergency.'_ Taranee ignored the grumbles. '_Julian's been kidnapped, and Nerissa's prison was with him!'_

'_Seriously? Why is it whenever we try to relax, something comes up?' _Irma's 'voice' was annoyed and resigned.

'_What?! I'm on my way.' _Cornelia glanced at Irma. "At least we got halfway through the movie this time." Irma just sighed and got up.

'_Then we'll meet at Taranee's house, alright?'_

'_Remind me I have to tell you guys something later.'_ Hay Lin glanced at Eric.

"I have to go."

"Why?" Eric looked a little confused. "We haven't-"

"Eric, trust me, it's important . . . it's related to my ability to fly." Hay Lin fidgeted. "I promise to tell you everything when I get back, okay?"

"Okay." Eric kissed her. "I'm holding you to it." She smiled, and turned invisible to fly off. " . . . We sure have a lot in common." He whispered. He glanced down, then closed his eyes. If he thought hard enough, maybe he could send to Nigel. Failing twice, he went with the tried and true method. He turned into a shadow and flew towards Nigel's house.

Nigel's peaceful dreams were rudely shattered by someone shaking his shoulder. Opening his eyes to give them a few curses and maybe a punch, he stopped when he recognized who it was. "Eric?"

"Yeah, we need to get Martin and Alectra, I think something's going down." Eric then pointed to the compass, which was going nuts again.

" . . . Great." Nigel muttered. "Like I need another excuse to get grounded." '_Martin, you up?'_

'_Yeah, Oh, and I figured out something about the book!'_

'_That's good Martin, tell us later, right now, we've got an issue. So meet us at the construction site, okay?'_

'_What kind of issue?'_

'_I haven't the faintest. We'll see you there, and you'd better bring Alectra.'_

* * *

"Okay, we'll go to Meridian first." Will addressed everyone in the basement of the silver dragon. No one paid any attention to a dog rooting through the trash near one of the windows. "Cornelia, you'll have to talk to the plants. Especially those who were right there when the two kidnappers showed up. Blunk, You're taking Sandpit and Aldarn straight to the castle."

"Huggles and Napoleon are staying with Lillian." Matt added. "So I'm cleared to go with you." No one argued that. If Nerissa was back, they were going to need Matt close by.

"Alright, Matt sticks with Caleb. We don't need either of you to vanish right now." Will nodded, then held up the heart. "Guardians, Unite!" Matt powered up as well.

Outside, the 'dog' lifted it's head to watch them vanish. It's lips pulled back into a wolfish smile, then it took off.

* * *

"You flew with Hay Lin?!" Martin and Nigel looked at Eric in shock.

"She was flying too! I wasn't even helping her!" Eric held up his hands. "Then she cut short our date by turning invisible and flying off!"

"How can she do that?" Martin wondered aloud.

"I could tell you." All five whirled to see a wolf close by. As they watched it turned into Apate. "But that would be so boring."

"Apate, what are you doing here?"

"Mm, not much. My Lord's forbidden me to attack while I'm on earth . . . but he never said I couldn't meddle a bit." Apate sat on a makeshift bench, stretching her legs. "You'll find some answers on the world of Meridian." She formed a globe of sorts. But it looked different than Earth. "Go there . . . Oizys is attacking that world."

"Why should we touch you?"

" . . . My Lord has his agenda, I have mine. Your demise isn't part of it." Apate stood, and walked up to Nigel, he didn't flinch back when she put a hand on his shoulder. "I swear on the heart of Arcgen, I won't set you up to die." A pulse came from the heart, as if acknowledging her. "That better?"

" . . . It'll do for now." Nigel acquised. "We better go now."

"Take care." Apate took off.

"I really don't get it."

"Neither do I, but I can't really think of a loophole in her promise." Nigel held out his hand. The heart pulsed in his hand. "Sentinels, Awake!" As the group vanished through the portal, no one looked back to see Apate watching them.

"When the cats are all away, this little rat's gonna play." Smirking, she turned into Ms. Dea Eppson. "With some emotions . . ." She pulled out three yearbook photos. Three girls and one boy. _Uriah and his paltry little group weren't much to work with, but these show promise. _She glanced back at where the portal had once been. _And you won't be able to do a thing to save them, chasing after my brothers, dear Sentinels. _Apate looked at the address on the first photo. _Now to start making their lives a living nightmare . . . So they'll willingly follow me to Nyx!_

**Sorry for the wait. But there were a few issues to hammer out . . . **

**Well, Apate's pretty much got Earth to herself, and four targets already picked out! And The Sentinels and are guardians are on a collision course to meet in Meridian . . .**

**Which will be next chapter and I can't garrauntee when I'll post it . . . might take a month, or it could take a week, I don't know. (College and work are kicking my ** all around town.)**

**So, and you know who you are, I'm not going to abandon this story ever, and I will update again, just chill. **


	10. Collision Course Part 2

**Collision Course Part 2**

When W.I.T.C.H and co. arrived on meridian, they found the main city being attacked by an ugly troll. Gargoyle was already fighting it. Red lightning was coming from a bat the size of a man. Matt flapped his wings and rescued two children from getting blasted.

"T, H, Offense, C, I defense, go!" As Will got her team into action, Matt and Caleb worked to get civilians to safety.

"Well, if it isn't the Guardians of Candracar." The bat turned back into Oizys, though he retained his wings and remained in the air.

"Where's my father?" Caleb was held back from attacking by Matt.

"Not the time, Caleb." Matt hissed. Caleb glared at the masked face of his friend. "Let Will and the girls handle the creep, we've got to get these people out of here."

"Now, now, the boy has a point, he should know where his father is." Oizys smirked. "He's . . . quite comfortable in our home."

"Give him back!" Cornelia had a host of rocks surrounding her as she stared the bat down.

"Our Lord is quite pleased to have him, so I regretfully must say, no." But his tone was mocking. Cornelia flung her horde of rocks at him, but he just blasted them to bits.

"Cornelia, forget him, help Gargoyle!" Will yelled, but it was an instant too late. Gargoyle fell and did not get back up.

"Why you-!" Irma blasted the troll with water while Hay Lin flew to check on Gargoyle.

* * *

"C'mon big guy, open your eyes!" He did seem to be breathing, but it was hard to tell how badly injured he was. Will and Oizys were trading blasts in the sky, Taranee had joined Irma in attacking Moros, and Matt and Caleb were still rescuing and evacuating civilians. "Gargoyle, please!" Hay Lin was relieved when his large eyes cracked open. "Gargoyle, you're okay! Can you move?"

_RRRrrrr . . . _It was a pathetic growl and his eyes closed again.

Irma had to turn her attention to putting out fires, when Moros suddenly shrank, but not before batting Taranee into a building. Hay Lin kept trying to coach Gargoyle back into wakefulness and get him moving again.

"C'mon, C'mon, what'll Raythor say if he sees you like this?"

"Rarrr . . ." A diffent growl, one more angry and dangerous. And suddenly something hit her in the wings, winding her and knocking her to the ground.

_Uh-oh_. Hay Lin twisted to see Moros, club overhead, and prepared to swing down. "Gargoyle, wake up!" The club came down.

Hay Lin flung her arm up, but the blow never came. Looking up, she saw that the reason it had stopped was a glowing chain of energy had wrapped around it. Both she and Moros looked to see a young man in a ninja-like wardrobe with a visor holding the other end.

"You know, it's rude to hit a lady." Mace quipped, before Moros snorted and tried to fling bot the chain and guy off. Mace reacted quickly, and unlooped the chain while flinging himself forward to land in front of Hay Lin. "You okay?"

"Yeah, who- who are you?" Mace smiled. While he wasn't a hundred percent sure, he was almost certain that the girl before him was Hay Lin. But there wasn't time for that, the Troll was getting back up.

"If you haven't met me before, call me Mace. Now, how about we teach this creep some manners?"

"Okay!" Taking a breath, she blew a strong wind right at the Troll.

* * *

Irma doused another set of flames, after pulling Taranee from the building she had crashed into. The fire guardian was still unconscious, and Irma worried about her friend. A creaking sound, and she glanced up to see part of a house ready to fall on her. "Oh, c'mon!" She grabbed Taranee, but as the last nail gave, a golden glow surrounded the two, and the wall shattered as it hit.

"Are you okay?" Irma gave the young man that had rescued her and Taranee a double take. He wasn't drop dead handsome, but he was kind of cute . . . too bad she couldn't really see his eyes.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"What's wrong with your friend?"

"I don't know, she's not waking up." Irma paused. "Who are you?"

"Call me Shield." Shield put a hand on Taranee's forehead. "Concussion, and severe bruising, but, she'll be okay." As he healed the dark skinned girl, he snuck a quick glance at the girl next to him. She looked just like the angel from his dreams. "There." Taranee woke up, touching her head and wincing in pain. "Welcome back."

"Who are you?" Taranee blinked.

"Shield." He glanced up. "I see Oizys is having a ball."

"You know him?"

"Sort of. We fought him a couple days ago." The three got to work on helping civilians.

"Who's this guy?" Caleb looked at Shield.

"A friend." Shield moved past him and began to heal those wounded. "Gonna have to Triage." He muttered, focusing on only healing the worst of the wounds.

"What's 'Triage'?" Irma blinked.

"It means work on the worst wounds and the people that are worse off, then going to the lesser wounded." Taranee explained. To his credit, Shield didn't yell when Matt landed right next to him, though he did startle a bit, before healing the child Matt carried.

* * *

"And you're supposed to be the most powerful guardian, keeper of the heart." Oizys smirked. "But you're just a girl out of her element."

"That's where you're wrong." Will blasted him out of the sky. "Because this is the element I excel at!"

"Nice." Will turned to see a newcomer, who quickly put up his hands. "Not here to fight you, I'm after Oizys."

"Ah, and the Sentinel chooses to arrive." Oizys smirked. "How's your friend?"

"Better than you're going to be." Quinn held up his sword. "If I may join you, Red?"

"I'm afraid that won't be necessary." Oizys jumped, and grabbed onto Moros. Quinn swore as a portal opened up. "Round three will have more players!" A shadow shot into the portal a minute before the two left.

"Suddenly, I'm not sure him leaving is a good thing." Will glanced at her helper as he spoke. "I'm Quinn. I hold the Heart of Arcgen, what's your name, Red?"

"It's-" Will was cut off by Cornelia.

"Hold it, W, we don't know a thing about them."

"Relax, blondie, We're on your side!" Aesop landed on Quinn's shoulder. "Bat-boy and his not so good looking brother are our enemies, too."

"Doesn't necessarily make you our friend, now, does it?" Caleb took up Cornelia's argument.

"Oomph!" The noise came from Shield, as he fell to the ground. "I can't do much more, I'm afraid . . ."

"You've done more than enough." One of the merdianites thanked him. Irma helped him up.

"Our healers can't get the rest." Another assured him. Mace, seeing the frown from Caleb and getting the feeling they weren't very welcome, quickly took Shield from Irma.

"Well, if that's the case . . ." Will held out the Heart. "You won't object to coming to Candracar with us."

"Not at all." Quinn reabsorbed the Heart of Arcgen. "We have nothing to hide."

* * *

Candracar swept Martin's breath away. It was a beautiful place, like a palace from a fairytale, or RPG. "This is the center of infinity?"

"Beautiful, isn't it?" The water angel, I, grinned.

"Yeah." Alectra climbed up onto his shoulder.

'_I never dreamed I would see this place.'_

"Welcome, Guardians." The Oracle and Eldorne met them.

"Who are your friends?" Eldorne studied the five newcomers.

'_I am Alectra, the bag of feathers is my brother, Aesop, and theses three warriors are The Sentinels of Arcgen, Quinn, Mace and Shield.'_ Alectra gained his attention.

"I see. Then Arcgen was never destroyed." The oracle nodded. "I thought that may be the case."

"You didn't know?" C blinked.

"Fire Guardian, you remember when your brother disappeared?"

"Yes, he was trapped in a loop of infinity that you couldn't look into, though you knew it was there." T nodded. (A/N: From the book Taranee's story, Heartbreak Island)

"Their world vanished into a similar loop." The Oracle slipped his hands into his sleeves. "We never did find out what happened. And were unable to look into the matter very far, there was a danger of two worlds merging, and our resources were pushed to the limit." He closed his eyes and smiled. "Now, I know what to look for . . . come." They all followed him into the main audience chamber. Elyon and Raythor were waiting, along with the other elders.

"H-uh?" Martin blinked as Nigel nudged him to keep from speaking. _'Dude, That's Elyon! Or a look a like.'_

'_Noted, but until the girls trust us with their names, we aren't going to let slip who we are. Besides, we've got other issues to focus on.'_ Nigel chided him.

'_Fine. But I'm not the only one that think W looks familiar, right?'_

Neither Nigel or Eric answered. A murky pool of black fog collected in the center of the room. The Oracle frowned, already not liking the potential reasons as to why the fog was black.

"Oracle?" Luba's whiskers were twitching, not liking the sensation.

"I can't get a firm lock on the dimension as it is now . . ." The Oracle winced. Inside the pool, there was now a picture of a stone breaking open, A skeleton with red eyes emerging. The pool shuddered, and the skeleton held a black and red dagger. Quickly the scene changed again as Apate and Oizys were created and sent off. What happened next made Caleb yell in anger. Julian was deposited on a slab, Nerissa's jewel taken, and then the skeleton grabbed the barely awake man.

"Father!" The scene went red, and when it cleared, Julian, though slightly younger looking, and with the red eyes of the skeleton, sat on the dark throne. Then the pool burst into red steam.

"What was that thing?"

"What did it do to my Father?"

"That was Nyx." Nigel spoke up, not sure how he knew, it was just a feeling that went deep into his bones and rattled them. "And he's possessing that man." C threw her arms around Caleb and sank with him to the ground, strangled sobbing made his body shake uncontrollably and he rested his head on her shoulder.

"Why Julian?" Elyon glanced at Nigel.

"I have no idea." He noted the look. "The last person Nyx possessed was Aesop." He gestured to the raven. "We had to beat Aesop within an inch of his life to get Nyx out. But I don't think that's going to work this time."

"What world are they on?" W looked towards the Oracle, who just closed his eyes.

"A world called Eclipse . . . It's a barren world, and in some ways, hard to get to from here." Eldorne spoke up. "The last keeper of it's heart chose to seclude it from the other worlds, creating a dark veil of their own to keep Candracar out. Before that, Eclipse was at war with Arcgen. What has happened since, is anyone's guess."

" . . . Shade." Nigel muttered. He was pretty sure that the creation of the Veil was the former Sentinel's work. Alectra heard.

'_What makes you say that?'_

'_It's just a feeling I have . . . and I doubt the 'veil' was to keep candracar out, but more like a certain someone in.'_ Nigel frowned.

'_Well, on the subject of feelings, I've got a bad one myself.' _Martin shifted, _'Someone's going to die if we battle Nyx and his demons.'_

'_How?'_

'_I can kinda sense the future, nothing more than a 'bad thing gonna happen' or 'good thing if I choose this' sort of feelings, but they've always come true . . . And I know something's going to happen that we won't be able to stop, and soon.'_

'_Then we'll just have to do our best.'_

"Kambala is under attack." The oracle's eyes opened. "By the same two that just attacked Meridian."

"I get the feeling this is going to be a long night . . . I should've made Astral Drops . . ." Will groaned.

"Astral Drops?" Will blinked at Quinn.

"They fill our place at home so our parents don't find out about our magic." Will chose the short explanation.

"Ah, Parents, no need to worry them unnessecarily." The Oracle smiled. He held up a box that was full of coins. Or at least coin like objects. "As it is possible that you may be gone longer than is currently foreseen, I had Luba take this out of our artifact room."

"What are they?" the guardians, the sentinels and Matt all took one.

"I'm afraid the original name would be hard for you, but to put it simply, these are doppelganger coins . . . whisper the name you were given at birth, and they will become exact replicas, without the faulty memories back on your world." Hay Lin caught the look shared between Halinor and Kadma.

"Why didn't you tell us about them?" Kadma frowned.

"Cassidy was told, but she wasn't able to give them to the rest of you, because of Nerissa . . ." Halinor closed her eyes at Tibor's explanation.

"All right." The nine from Earth whispered their names, and the coins vanished.

* * *

"Caleb, I have something to give you." While the oracle explained the coins, Elyon called Caleb over. "There's little chance of it doing anything other than boosting your own physical abilities and endurance, but I think you're going to need it." She created a globe of white magic in her hand.

"Queen Elyon?" Caleb blinked at her.

"It's some of my magic . . . I get the feeling you'll need the boost to get Julian back." Elyon tossed the ball into his chest. "Sir Caleb, Knight of Meridian."

* * *

The Oracle stepped back as the ten warriors and the Raven left through the portal. Alectra choosing to stay in Candracar to speak with the council. Elyon and Raythor left to head back to Meridian soon after. He bowed his head in thought as he took the box of the coins back to the artifact room. Yes, he had made a nessecary choice, but it was a difficult one. There were two paths that could be taken now, one of heartache that would lead to safety, the other of betrayal that would lead to the downfall of everything.

He felt the growing danger in the Guardians' home but for the sake of the better future, he had not told them. A decision he knew would hurt the Guardians, especially when they found out. As he put the box in its proper place on the shelf, he closed his eyes. He wasn't sure why, but after millennia of choosing guardians, this team of guardians, as well as the former one, were getting under his skin. The Oracle was so use to wrapping himself in indifference, he had to, to survive the daily input of an Infinite amount of worlds living and a few being born and dying as well . . . he couldn't afford to put his whole self into each one.

Perhaps it was the incident with Nerissa that was the catalyst, but he found himself caring for the guardians as themselves, not as warriors chosen to protect Candracar, but as daughters.

And did not most parents make difficult decisions that were in their childern's best interest, but not always what the children wanted?

**Sorry for the long time between posts, finals and end of year projects, not to mention my job, kicked me to the curb and then down the street. **

**Plus, I've been sick, 'cause apparently the human body fights off disease when there is some form of stress/desperation, until the cause for said stress is gone, and then every possible benign type of fevers and colds come back with a vengeance. **

**Next chapter will be out soon(er), and that will focus on Apate, and the rest of our villains.**


	11. The Spider's Net

**The Spider's Net**

Ms. Dea Eppson slipped into her apartment and closed the door. She smirked at the pictures there, before going and sitting in the big over stuffed arm chair she had bought at an auction.

Then she leaned back with a sigh, and changed back into her true self, Apate. She had used up a lot of energy, going through a portal that had crossed time as well as space. She had found a family that she had originally planned on merging with, but had been thwarted by the fact she didn't want to take that much time of growing up. So she spent a year watching the family instead, as well as what 'School' was like. Her attention was caught by the guidance counselor, and she spent another year shadowing her and figuring out what credentials were needed to do something similar.

Apate then found a homeless woman, mind 90 percent gone from drugs and alcohol, who was about the right age and still had a driver's liscence (long since expired, but the picture was one she could easily replicate.) Then Apate simply 'removed' the woman out of the world and took her place, going to college and spending the years nessecary to gain money and a reputation. It hadn't been easy, she had cultivated 'friends' of course, most who had probably forgotten her, and had rediscovered the woman's family, who had been thrilled that she had turned 'her' life around so well.

It sickened her, how eager the family had been to welcome her, to shower their human emotions on her. But she wasn't allowed to kill anymore than the woman who's place she had stolen. She could only meddle in their lives now, and collect warriors for her true father, Nyx.

The weekend passed quickly, with her easily shaking one of her targets lives apart. The other three had more strength to keep by themselves, but even that was waning.

So she was almost thrilled when the first target came to her, sobbing, wearing a (slightly stained with mud) scooped neck red dress with black leggings and a black belt around her waist.

"Why, Miss Mandy, what's the trouble?" Ms. Eppson quickly closed the door, putting a sign up to indicate she was with a student. She held out a tissue box to the young woman.

"I'm losing my friends!" Mandy sobbed, accepting the tissue. Ms. Eppson left it beside her on the couch. "That . . . bitch, Shelley, she's trying to turn Will against me! And she's winning!"

"Mandy, forgive an older woman for not quiet following that statement, I'm still going through student files." Ms. Eppson soothed. Mandy took a sobbing breath.

"Shelley's a cheerleader, and she's also on the swim team. Friday she accused me of trying to steal Matt, who's been my friend since kindergarten, from his girlfriend Will, who's also my friend. Now she's gone to Will to 'warn' her, and who knows what else she's been saying." Mandy took another sobbing breath. "But I don't want Matt! I'm happy that he's with Will! They're sweet together!" A new wave of tears cascaded down her cheeks.

"Well, why don't you talk to Will? Tell her the truth?"

"Because, Will and I are alike . . ." Mandy sniffled. "Both of us had our parents divorce, and for both of us, it was our moms finding out that our dads were going behind their backs." Ms. Eppson put a hand on Mandy's shoulder, listening. "Will's going to be scared that I'm lying, and it's reasonable, because of her experience. And I don't want to hurt Will! So I can't approach them, until Matt reassures Will, which he will, once Will talks to him about Shelley, but that will take at least a week, and to top it off, my mother's grown even more distant and busy and doesn't care and I can't call Dad, he hasn't even sent me a letter since the divorce!" Mandy sobbed again. "I feel like I'm going crazy! Like I'm drowning and there's no way out!"

"Shh, take it easy baby girl." Mandy buried her face into the woman's shoulder, much to Ms. Eppson's shock.

"I just want to leave! I want to find a place where I can be safe!" Ms. Eppson blinked, and rubbed her shoulder.

"Do you really want that? It could be very far away from those you care about . . . you could end up destroying yourself."

"I don't care! I just want to get away! I'd sell my soul to the devil just to escape this pain!" Mandy had been struggling with the stress for a long time. The past weekend had been rougher than usual with horrible Nightmares and little sleep, and her breaking point was something simple, Seeing Shelley talking to Will, with a satisfied smile when she saw Mandy watching, and Will's look of shock and fear. That moment was the straw that broke the camel's back, and everything had suddenly become too much for Mandy. So at the time the words left her lips, she meant it, but the words had been forced out by the stress; any other time, and she would **never** even think of such a thing.

Unfortunately, the devil in the statement happened to be in the form of her guidance counselor comforting her.

"Oh? You know, I'm quite capable of helping you do that . . ." Mandy looked up at her, not quite believing but desperate. "Tell me Mandy, do you believe in magic and fairy godmothers?"

"A little- Oh!" before Mandy's eyes, Ms. Eppson had changed into a beautiful woman wearing shimmering gold with light translucent silver wings behind her. "How?"

"I suppose you could say that I'm the school's fairy godmother . . . I'm here to help."

"Then, you could help me?"

"Not 'could help', I _will _help you, dear. Come with me . . . don't worry, no time will pass for this world." Mandy stared at the woman who now resembled an angel more than a guidance counselor. She had stood and now held out her hand to Mandy, smiling gently. "I owe you for helping me adjust to this place, dear one." Mandy stood up, and took her hand. The 'Fairy' smiled, and wrapped her in a bit of the gown, closer to her. "Close your eyes, it's going to be very bright, too bright for human eyes." Mandy obeyed, and Ms. Eppson smiled, before a portal opened and the two vanished inside.

Nyx stood as his second born creation came with the first of her chosen targets. He had been watching, and like his deceitful creation had changed his appearance alittle . . . to be more benign. Knowing that Apate had put the young girl under an illusion of hope that would make the dark and frightening palace more bright, he stood in front of his throne.

"Open your eyes, Mandy . . . we're here."

What Mandy saw was a beautiful palace, as if out of a story book. "It's beautiful . . ."

"So, the lovely godmother has returned." Nyx smiled. "And who is this fair maiden?" Mandy blushed at the attention.

"Her name is Mandy, my lord." Mandy shyly glanced at the 'Fairy'. "Mandy, this is the king of the land, and the one who will help grant your wish."

"I am King Julian." Nyx borrowed his container's name. "Will you do me the honor of walking with me, Fair Mandy? I understand you have a very serious wish that needs to be granted, and I would like to hear more about it." He offered her his arm, and Mandy hesitanly took it.

"Well . . ." The walk was the most enjoyable thing Mandy had done in a long time. She told him everything, and the 'King' listened in interest. Near the end of the walk they sat down on a bench in front of a pool. "And sometimes I feel like I'm crazy, and then I wish that everyone else was just as crazy and hurt as I am . . . is that wrong?"

"No child, you're just being human, and there is nothing wrong with that." Nyx smiled at the young woman. Apate couldn't have chosen better, he knew exactly what to do with her . . . what powers to give and how to 'erase' her former life from her mind.

"I wish you were my dad . . . he never talks to me anymore." Mandy absently remarked, much to Nyx's 'joy'.

"Ah, speaking of wishes, it's time to grant yours . . . come." Mandy followed him as they stepped into the shallows of the pool. "You're going to feel some slight vertigo, I'm afraid, but just close your eyes and relax . . . think of floating in water, and everything will be alright." As Mandy closed her eyes, Apate and Nyx dropped their illusions and the pool's clear water became dark with an oily red tint. Nyx drew out the heart/dagger and the dark water rose up and wrapped around Mandy, a band going over her eyes, and tilted her back so she was horizontal above the water. Nyx calmly used the dagger to draw two red lines from under her eyes to her jaw bone, and then eteched a necklace design just under her collar bone. The marks and dagger glowed red and Nyx smiled, right as Mandy was pulled under the dark water. "The doppelganger ready?" Nyx looked to shore to see Apate carrying a unconscious Mandy look-alike. "Then you may return. I expect you will have the others ready soon?"

"Of course . . . it shouldn't take longer than a week to bring them in, judging by this one." Apate then left.

Nyx smiled and turned back to the water. A red light shone through, growing brighter quickly. "I feel almost sorry for you, dear girl." He remarked absently. "You wished to escape purgatory, but you only made it deeper in. Rise, my daughter, Lyssa." Slowly a figure did emerge, wearing a form fitting off the shoulders crimson red dress with a fairly modest slit on one side. She still had black leggings, but the black flats had become black boots. Her eyes looked hollow as she stared at her 'father'. "Welcome home, Daughter."

"Father." He embraced her.

Apate quickly returned to her guidance counselor disguise, gently putting the Mandy doppelganger down on her couch. She smiled as she glanced at the clock, and quickly wrote a note to the teachers of the classes Mandy had missed.

"Mandy, time to wake up." 'Mandy' stirred, then sat up.

"Oh, did I fall asleep?"

"Yes, but that's alright, how are you feeling?"

"Okay . . . better."

"Good . . . now, I think you should take this week easy, that doesn't mean not do your homework, but perhaps you should limit your extracurricular activities, do something fun and for yourself, alright?"

"Yes ma'am . . . like what?"

"That's up to you, but I'd recommend spend some time at the beach or someplace not heavily trafficked by people you might encounter in school." Ms. Eppson smiled. "You could even just stay in your room and listen to music. Just unwind a bit, alright? You need a way to release that's healthy."

"Okay, thank you . . . I'm sorry for bothering you."

"It's my job to be 'bothered' as you put it. Drop by any time . . . oh, Mandy, here are notes for your teachers, and this is my card. If you need someone to talk to, at any time, please, call me. I'm in your corner, okay?"

"Thank you Ms. Eppson, I appreciate it."

"Oh, it's not a problem." Ms. Eppson smiled as she watched her go. Now if only the other targets swam into her nets that easily . . . "His enemies won't stand a chance." For the first time since she was created, Ms. Eppson grinned. She had chosen the four based on the fact that they were all loners in some form or fashion, they weren't nessecarily ostracized from the crowd, but they weren't tied tightly into a group either . . . and they all had intellegience, the main factor that had her ignoring Uriah's group. All the three boys would be good for would be cannon fodder, but she was pretty sure they'd find a way to mess up even that. She sank back into her chair, and glanced at the next target, one who had been somewhat cast adrift by former friends. Well, not so much cast adrift as 'forgotten'. Apate had almost gagged on the energy that radiated from five girls. From what she had of her creator's memories, it had been painfully obvious who they belonged to.

Candracar, the heart of infinity . . . and the heart of all pure magic. Just thinking about it made her uneasy.

The five guardians had to grow closer, to the exclusion of the 'normal' friends they had. Apate smirked. She had set up the Sentinels to meet the Guardians. That should distract them from her plans here, for awhile. She snickered as she calmly flipped through the files. Teenagers were very predictable.

_Hmm, lessee . . . Grumper Sisters . . . gossips . . . no, not warrior potential at all. I can't believe with a school this big there aren't that many close or even enemies with the group. Four just won't cut it, I need at least __**one**__ more._ Apate leaned back and stared at the ceiling. Children and teenagers were so easy to manipulate . . . it wasn't like the sentinels and guardians had siblings- _Wait a second! _Apate pulled the file on Taranee. The blonde girl- Cordelia? No, Cornelia, had a younger sister and Lair had a younger brother, but they were too young for her Creator's plans. Taranee had an older brother. A 18 year old older brother. He was going to graduate soon, wasn't he?

Apate smiled. Well, now this was going to be _**fun**_ . . .

* * *

Huggles scowled, not to happy with the Not-Matt that the Oracle had sent. Oh, it acted like him, but it was just . . . unsettleing. Yes, that was the right word. The dormouse had been taking advantage of it's new intelligence to start reading, but he still preferred picture books. Human books were pretty boring to read if there weren't enough pictures. Chattering to himself, Huggles watched the Not-Matt get ready for band practice . . . and got another shock when a Not-Nigel showed up!

'What is going on? I need to talk to Kitty!' Huggles shot out the window, and used his Regent-sense to lead him to Napoleon. Going back home would be a little more difficult, but he'd work it out when that happened. Right now, he needed answers, and Not-Matt was not going to be any help . . . he didn't have magic! Dodging people, and scampering up a tree, Huggles was set back by the street. Huffing and chattering to himself in irritation, he studied the crosswalk.

'Humans and their stupid rodent killing cars, you're interfering with Regent of earth business!' Huggles shouted at the people below, no one understood him, of course by he had to express his displeasure somehow.

**

* * *

**

And with that, this chapter is ended. Next time, we'll be back with the Guardians and Sentinels.

**AJ and Friends- Next chapter is the one you're waiting for. **

**Disclaimer: C'mon, Like I would be posting on this site if I had the rights to WITCH. **


	12. The Collision

**The Collision**

Upon arriving in Zamabala, the group almost immediately split into pairs. Cornelia and Caleb had shot off as soon as they arrived, both interested in finding the stupid bat and pummeling information of Julian out of him. Will had growled and glanced at the seven, eight if you counted the bird and sighed.

"Alright, Quinn, you go with the Regent of Earth, T, you're with me, and uh . . . the raven?" Will blushed. "Sorry, I forgot your name." Information overload could be blamed for that.

"Aesop. And don't worry about it, Red, my own sister forgot it recently."

"She didn't forget it, she was ignoring you." Quinn sighed. "You had just called her a handbag."

"Oh. I didn't mean it personally . . ." He flapped over to Taranee's shoulder.

"That just leaves you four . . ."

"You'd like them to item up with one of the remaining guardians- what did I say?" The three Sentinels had ducked their heads as Hay Lin and Irma stared at the bird.

"It is 'pair off' or 'partner up', in earth's terms. If you item up, you're uh- trying to court a female." Quinn tried to explain

"Oh . . ." Aesop nodded to himself. "I get it . . . I think."

"Maybe he should stick with one of us."

"Nah, it'll be fine." Will shook it off. Then noticed Mace was staring at Hay Lin, rather intently. "Hey, Mace, she has a boyfriend."

"I know . . ." He absently reached up and removed his visor. "Hey You, is this why you could fly?"

There was no possible way. Yes, Eric had floated in the air with her, but there was no way he was also a guardian . . . that would make it too perfect . . . right? And yes, he looked like the ninja she'd briefly seen in her dream, and yes Mace looked like an older, even more dreamy Eric, but that was just impossible. So it just couldn't be . . .

"E-Eric?" Hay Lin squeaked. He nodded, while everyone else gaped. "Wha- Eric, Mace . . ." Hay Lin was speechless.

"So . . . if that's really Hay Lin, I'm going to say you're really Will Vandom, Irma Lair . . .The blonde is defiantly Cornelia Hale . . ." Quinn glanced at Taranee. "Which leaves you . . . Taranee." He removed his visor as well. "Since Eric's revealed himself, and I hope Alectra isn't upset, but there's no point pretending . . . That's Martin and I'm-"

"Nigel!" Taranee figured it out.

"Wait, you're Martin?"

"You're Irma?" The water guardian and light sentinel looked at each other. "I thought you looked like an angelic version of her, but I didn't . . ." Martin blinked. He kept his visor on.

"This explains why you've been asking me strange questions lately . . . and your sudden growth spurt . . ."

"Growth spurt?" Martin blinked.

"You've gained at least two inches Martin, or have you not noticed your pants getting shorter?"

"Okay, before we get all carried away, Cornelia and Caleb went off on their own." Matt reminded them, though he didn't bother telling them who he was. He was a little self conscious of himself at that moment, all the others looked like grown up versions of themselves, even if the girls did have wings (they were easy to forget, and if they stood just right you couldn't see them). Him? He looked like the Sphinx's cousin with dreads, and his wings weren't so easy to ignore . . . Not to mention he just found out his best friend got sucked onto the superhero bandwagon.

"Right." Will nodded, but gave him a questioning look. He twitched his wings, then dipped his head. She was right, might as well get it over with.

"I'll give you a clue to who I am . . . Will's my girl." He watched as Nigel gave a double take.

" . . . Matt?"

"Yeah, welcome to saving the world one-oh-one Nigel."

"How come you get to look more ripped than us?"

"I've been working at this longer?" Matt held up his hands. "Dunno. But we can swap stories later, we've got to get moving."

"He's right, okay, pick a partner everyone, ladies- choice?" Irma had put a hand on Martin's shoulder. Hay Lin and Eric had taken off, Nigel and Taranee were just vanishing out of sight, and Matt had his arms crossed, head tilted slightly in what was clearly (to Will) amusement.

"C'mon Martin, I'll bet we'll be the ones to get the most work done. Since we're just friends and not dating."

"Aye, Aye, captain of my heart- relax, I'm joking." He noted her look. He wasn't sure if it was because of the magic or what, but he wasn't as . . . desperate as he use to be. "But even friends tease each other." He added as they flew off. _If this was over an ocean it would be perfect . . . though funnily enough, I really just want her as a friend right now, more than a girlfriend. I think I can wait and hold back . . . until that dream comes true._

"Well, that was . . ." Will fumbled for a word (or even several).

"Different? Enlightening?"

"Unexpected . . . though with all the stuff we've done, I really shouldn't be complaining." Will shrugged, then took her Dark Angel's hand. "Though Irma might be right."

"Oh?" He pulled her a little closer and her free hand went to his mask.

"Why would she be right?" Aesop completely ruined the moment. "What?" He didn't understand the looks.

" . . ." The two looked at each other. "Well, maybe not a hundred percent but still . . ." Will muttered. "Let's go." The three then took to the sky.

* * *

Oizys and Moros, however, had ceased their attack for the time being.

Why? You may ask. Well, a 'shadow' had dashed into the portal before them, and now that shadow had gained their attention . . . for the moment.

"A squeaky little girl like you wants to join our creator's side?" Oizys studied the black haired girl with freckles.

"Yes . . . I hate the guardians, and I wish to aid any who will destroy them!" Miranda tightened her hands into fists. "They have the man I love still in a cell . . . I had to bribe a passling smuggler and one fool of a guard to escape . . . when your attack came, I had my chance!"

"I see . . . and what if they're destruction is not in our creator's plans?"

"Then I will settle for harming them in any way that will eventually break them!" Miranda declared. "I will swear loyalty to any to get some revenge!" Oizys studied her a moment longer, then nodded.

"Very well . . . but you'll join under our terms." It was an imperceptible nod, and Moros brought the club down on the unsuspecting Miranda's head. "Fool." He sneered, and a portal opened up to Eclipse. He rather carelessly tossed her in, uninterested in what would happen to her.

" . . ." Oizys crossed his arms. He had a sudden thought of what he wanted to do if he could separate from Nyx, but as soon as the thought had came it quickly vanished, forgotten and replaced with the urgent need to get back to destroying Zambala. "Let's go, I want to try killing one of the trees before it can save itself." The two took off, to hunt, to kill and to destroy.

* * *

In Meridian, Elyon arrived to hear of Miranda's escape.

"I want Jeek the smuggler captured, alive and unharmed, use only nessecary force! I also wish to have a meeting with those listed here." She passed a scroll to a servant. "What's the report from the battle?"

"No fatalities, and the guardians and the mystery men saved many lives." Aldarn spoke, coming to her side. "But Gargoyle . . . Gargoyle is still between this life and the next one. The healers are stumped as to why . . ."

"I know." Raythor closed his eyes. "Gargoyle's lived a very long time . . . he's well, age is finally catching up to him." Elyon's eyes widened. "He'll recover from this battle . . .but he's only got a few more battles left in him, I'm afraid."

"When were you going to tell me?"

"Your majesty- Gargoyle has already lived past many men's lifetimes, he could have outlived all of us, but with your brother's drain on Meridian's magic and the recent battles, he's just . . . tired." Raythor bowed his head. "He didn't want anyone to know."

"Your Majesty, Gargoyle's a _Nymlem_, his kind . . . they're very close to Meridian's raw magic. I know that when Phobos drained Meridians power, several _nymlem_ died." Aldarn crossed his arms. "It's nothing short of a miracle that he was able to survive your brother's rule with so much of his strength intact."

"So . . . why did he serve Phobos?"

"He didn't. He followed me." Raythor lifted his head. "Nerissa found him, gave him that club arm, and while we were the Knights of Vengence, Gargoyle and Sandpit took a liking to me, I suppose it was because the other blokes weren't much for mingling with those who couldn't talk back. Those two looked to me, and probably would have kept following me no matter what I decided."

"I see." Elyon went silent. "I'll visit him after the meeting, since he wished for me to not find out." Somedays she cursed being queen. "Also, this makes what the meeting is for even more important." Aldarn and Raythor followed her into the small dinning room. (The same place where Julian, Caleb and her parents had discussed the shock and realization that Trill was not who she said.) Drake was there, as well as Elias, the royal painter. "Thank you . . . where is Vathek and Tynar?"

"On their way- in the door as we speak." Drake smiled. Vathek and Tynar entered.

"Your Majesty, what is it?"

"All of you are strong warriors. You have all done your best to protect and serve the crown of Meridian, and I feel you are all worthy of my trust." She noted Drake's eyes shifting to Raythor. "Yes Drake, even Raythor. With Recent events, and the potential for another war on the horizon, I have come to the conclusion that it is not . . . safe to keep all of Meridian's power, even though I am the queen and therefore the Heart of Meridian. I have discussed this matter with the Oracle, and he has given his blessing on my choosen course of action. Vathek, Drake, Tynar, Aldarn, Elias, and Raythor, I have chosen the seven of you to act in the somewhat similar fashion as the guardians, as Knights of Meridian."

"Seven, your majesty? I count six." Drake glanced around.

"Caleb. He is currently with the guardians hunting down the two that attacked. However, Meridian is still a prime target for these new attackers and it is an urgent need now to safeguard the magic of Meridian. You are all unlikely to gain any powers other than strong enhancements to your already considerable skills." The six lined up in front of her, in silent synchronization. "Will you accept this charge, and this gift of power?"

"I would be deeply honored, your majesty." Elias bowed. The others agreed. Elyon held out her hands, and six more bright orbs of power formed, and found their way to each man's chest.

"I thank you, my loyal knights." With that important piece of business out of the way, Elyon began the rather boring but nessecary series of meetings to deal with the fallout of the battle.

_Why, oh why do fairytales gloss over the life of the princess after the princess becomes Queen? I was totally unprepared for all this . . . _

* * *

Back in Zambala:

"Nothing. No one knows where those two disappeared to, Caleb." Cornelia opened her eyes. "We need to check the quarry, and then I'm out of places to look."

"Right, Let's go." As they began to walk, he glanced over at her. "Are you alright?"

"I'll be better once we find your father and make sure Nerissa isn't coming back. Why do you ask?"

"No reason." Cornelia continued to check in with the plant life as they continued on. It was clear the news hadn't changed, but he was grateful that she still checked in . . . and he was grateful for her being there with him. "Thanks."

"Huh?" Cornelia glanced up at him. He helped her up and hugged her. "Caleb?"

"Don't know what I'd do without you."

"Hopefully, you'll never have to find out." Cornelia smiled, and kissed him. As they broke apart, she kept her smile. "Now, let's go find the creeps that took Julian and beat some information out of them, shall we?" Caleb smiled back and the two continued on, this time holding hands.

* * *

"I can't believe you're a guardian! Why didn't you tell me?" Taranee, now over her intial shock, was a little miffed Nigel had kept his powers a secret from her.

"Uh, may I point out that you never told me about this side of you either?" Nigel held up his hands. "So I think we're even on that score." Taranee sighed.

"Yeah, you got me there . . . So . . . what powers do you have?" Nigel smiled and grabbed her hand.

"Well, I'm the holder of the heart, and telepathic . . ."

* * *

"We finally beat Phobos, Nerissa and Cedric, but we stay guardians for any threat that might come, which leads to now." Hay Lin finished telling Eric as the two flew over the jungle. He smiled at her enthusiasm, though he had gotten a little lost near the end of her story. "We are so perfect together!" Hay Lin gushed, extremely happy. "And now I don't have to worry about people coming after you again!"

"Ah, again?"

"Oh, you don't remember . . . heh, well, I'd better explain." So Hay Lin sheepishly explained that a glamoured Nerissa had suckered all the guys in Shetfield with a love/lust spell, and that included him, Nigel and Martin. "I was still in shock over the fact she had captured my grandmother, and really self conscious over my braces, so even though I tried to keep telling myself you were under a spell, it really hurt me when Nerissa had you and my grandmother taunt me about it. Then when we were battling it out in the mall, Nerissa, ah, had you kinda strapped to a giant light ball and was about to turn you into charcoal. You were unconscious, and that helped me snap out of the catatonia I'd been in . . . I rescued you and me and the girls beat the heck out of Nerissa's cronies." Hay Lin glanced at the ground, embarrassed.

"Oh, Hay Lin, I'm sorry." He reached out and pulled her into a hug. "You know I love you . . . and that won't happen again, I promise."

"At least not without a fight on your part, right?"

"Right."

* * *

"Well, Nigel, Eric and Martin are now G- er, Sentinels of a long lost heart and their bad has decided to start wrecking havoc across all the worlds. Who else is going to get powers, Uriah and his idiots?" Will landed in a clearing. "And to top it off, I can't find Ironwood to discuss anything." Matt and Aesop landed right behind her.

"Take it easy, Will. At least we have more on our side now." Matt put a hand on her shoulder. "It could be a lot worse . . . it could **actually be** Uriah."

"I know . . . but this whole thing is making me uneasy. Like there's something I should be seeing."

"Well, if you can ever get Shield into a deep trance, you could ask him questions about the future." Aesop offered. "Or maybe even Mace, he's supposed to be able to see the past."

"Really?"

"Yep. Quinn's suppose to see the present, and his telepathy helps with that." Aesop hopped from branch to branch. "But he's not very good at finding things. That's always been the Light and the Dark's ability. Light even more so than Dark."

"So, Their elements are light, dark, and-"

"Psyche. Well, more like metal-organic psyche, I suppose. They've all developed their secondary powers a little quicker than their main ones, for some strange reason. Alectra stayed behind with the Oracle to ask about that."

"Wonder if I have an element . . ." Matt flexed his wings.

"You probably do, but it might not even be a main one. Might be a secondary element."

"Secondary Element?"

"Yeah, like, how water and wind can combine to make ice? Well, that makes Ice a secondary element."

"Tridart and Ember were both capable of secondary elements then, they were both made from a combination of two." Matt nodded to himself.

"Er, yeah . . . anyway, secondary elements are a bit more rare. There are also . . . er . . . I've mentioned that your earthling vocabulary is difficult, yes?"

"Yeah, frequently."

"Good. Alright . . . Light and Dark are elements that are considered opposites of each other, yes?" Both nodded. "Alright, then there are also opposites of the elements. Fire is the opposite of water, air is opposite of earth, and quintessence, or rather, the life element, is the opposite of death."

"Wait, death is considered an element?"

"Well, yes. An opposite element, created to oppose life. Order and chaos are also considered the ancient elements- and I've completely lost you once more, haven't I?"

"I was following until you brought up order and chaos." Will sighed, feeling a headache coming on.

"Sorry, my sister's a better speaker than I am, I tend to ramble." Aesop tilted his head. "Chaos and Order are the two oldest elements, according to you humans. Order created everything else, in particular the five main elements; Fire, Air, Earth, Water and Quintessence. Metal, Light and Dark also began to exist at the same time, but are considered side elements to those five. Then the secondary elements were created, and lastly, the final element, Death."

"So, you're saying I could have pretty much anything." Matt crossed his arms.

"Of course." Aesop blinked. "Oh, flowers!" The comment made Will and Matt look at each other.

"Uh, Aesop, are you alright?" Will walked over to the bird.

"Hm? Oh, yeah, why?"

"You abruptly changed the topic . . ."

"Oh, did I? Sorry. I do that occasionally, it's due to the damage I received when I was forcibly turned into my final form."

"Well, with that done, let's resume searching for Ironwood." Will frowned at the sky. "The sun's going to start setting soon."

* * *

Martin and Irma were resting. They had covered a lot of ground, but had yet to find any sign of Oizys and Moros. "So, what is your power?" It was as good of an ice breaker as any, and the two had felt entirely awkward towards each other since they had started searching.

"Hm? Oh, I'm apparently the Sentinel of Light. But we've just recently started so . . ." Martin shrugged. "All I can really do right now is form shield and barriers and heal . . ."

"That's not so bad. And healing is an excellent power to have." Irma offered.

"Y'think so?"

"Hey, if we had someone who could patch us up, we would've been able to do more for any civilians that we met." She smiled. "But this does explain a lot. You've been less annoying . . ."

"Sorry about that . . . trying to pretend that everything was normal was kinda hard . . ."

"Uh, that was actually a good thing, Martin." But Irma let it go. "Now, If I was an evil baddie, where would I be? –Ahh!" Martin tackled her out of the way of a lightning blast.

"Try right behind us!" Martin threw up a shield to protect them as more red lightning was flung down.

"What do you know, I was right . . . we did find them first." Irma winced as she sat up. "Nice tackle, going to go out for the football team?"

"Yeah, right after I try out for Track." Martin winced as the lighting was joined by Moros' club. "I can't hold this for much longer."

"Oh, Right." Irma quickly caused a geyser to send Moros flying. Martin released the shield and dodged out of the way. The two sides quickly got on opposite sides of the clearing. "Now what?"

"Now, we destroy you."

"Somehow, I knew he was going to say that." Martin sighed. "Do all villains sound like they do in the movies?"

"Some. The real egotistical ones. The others just growl and try to kill you." Irma shrugged. "Like that." She pointed as Moros began charging. She blasted him back with water again. "Shall we dance?"

"Take the lead, fair lady. I'm right behind you." Irma created a water spout, and Martin fell in behind her, using his shield to slam Moros away. For a moment, it looked like the troll and his batty companion were going to retreat, they had blended into the foliage around them. Then Oizys showed another ability.

He was a lot faster than them.

"Martin!" Irma yelled a warning, as Moros grabbed her from behind. Martin tried to turn and get a shield up, but as Oizys lunged at him, he saw the blade of a knife. _This is just like one of my dreams . . . _"Martin!" He tried to dodge out of the way, and partially succeeded, the blade only hit his right shoulder. His left hand glowed, a beam of light shot from it and sent Oizys flying into a tree. The knife was also ripped out and he had to bite his lip to keep from yelling. Then he hit the ground, the wind knocked out of him. "You creeps are going to pay for that!" Martin's vision grayed for a moment, when it cleared Irma was kneeling over him, blue eyes wide with concern. "Martin! Talk to me, stay with me!"

"What about?" He really wanted to sleep. A Tree behind Irma moved. "That an Ent?" He blinked, trying to focus. His shoulder hurt.

"I can get you to help, Guardian . . ." The Ent's and Irma's conversation was so far away . . .

"Martin, you are not allowed to fall asleep right now! Talk to me about anything- what's your favorite memory?" They were moving now. "Martin?" Why was it so hard to focus?

Oh, right, blood loss, maybe he should try healing himself? He grunted and gripped his shoulder with his left hand. But he couldn't tell if it was doing anything.

"Martin, can you hear me? Please, answer!" Apparently, it was. He could focus better, and his vision wasn't trying to gray out.

"I'm here, blossom . . . I won't go anywhere."

"Good, Boughbreaker's taking us to Ironwood, she's got the heart. She should be able to heal you." Irma bit her lip and glanced ahead. 'Should' being the key word in that sentence. And Taranee was too far away to take calls, apparently. _Taranee! Martin's hurt! _

**I've been working on this chapter for a while, and I've kept rewriting the beginning over and over . . . I rather like this version, but if you have any issues, please let me know and I'll keep it in mind for future chapters. Sorry for the cliffhanger . . . but this chapter was getting kinda long . . . **

**Next up, Apate's round up is going fine . . . except for a couple of glitches that pop up.**


	13. Hunting Season

**So, I googled image of a dormouse yesterday . . . those things are so cute! And the cartoon doesn't do Mr. Huggles' cuteness very well. If I didn't already have a cat, I'd get one.**

**Hunting Season**

Huggles had solved the dilemma of the cross walk rather ingeniously. He'd hidden himself, turned into his regent form, then glamoured to look human. Within moments, he was outside the Hales apartment complex. Finding a place to hide, he turned back into an innocent dormouse. Then it was just a matter of getting to the Penthouse.

Easier thought than done.

"I can't believe you took me to such a trashy movie _again_, Marco!" A woman huffed, storming past Huggles. Huggles chose to follow the man closely.

"But, Brenda, you were the one who-" Marco tried protesting, but cut himself off as she slammed the door behind her. "She never listens." He followed her inside, though. Huggles ignored the humans, sneaking into the elevator and glamouring himself as a part of the wall. When they left, he jumped and hit the button for Lillian's floor. He got to the door, then realized one important factor . . . he didn't know how to actually get in.

'NAPOLEON!' He squeaked. 'KITTY! WE NEED TO TALK!'

"Keep it down, H. What's wrong?" Napolean whispered under the door.

'First Not-Matt, now Not-Nigel! Something big happening!'

"Relax, Squirt, I don't think it's too bad . . . They'd have told us if there was something really big going down. Just go home and keep an eye out." Napoleon listened to the, reluctantly, affirmative squeak, and heard the dormouse slip away. "Though I can't blame you, I'm not all that easy myself . . . Not-Cornelia's a little nicer than the real her."

It took Huggles longer to get home, but he made it. He also resolved to go to 'school' (the strange place Matt refused to take him) and see if he could get any information on the strange happenings. But first, he was going to sleep . . . he'd tuckered himself out.

* * *

Apate, for the first time in a while, didn't have everything going her way. A rather annoying result, actually. The remaining three of her original targets were coming along nicely, except that she'd have to expend even more energy than expected to bring one of them to the breaking point. **Both** of her male targets seemed a bit more resilient than the females . . . must have been due to that ever wonderful thing called peer pressure. It had made her life very, very easy.

Well, with some exceptions to the rule, apparently. Apate crossed her arms and sulked as she watched the basketball game from a nearby rooftop, legs crossed with one heel tapping the side of the building. The second reason things weren't going her way was that Peter Cook, not only was he happy with himself and girlfriend, he was too **good**! He practically shone with warmth and caring, and she couldn't find anything to play with, no self doubt, no concern, no negative anything! Not to mention his girlfriend also had some magic, and appeared to be able to use it, or at the very least, aware of it.

The evil woman huffed and propped her head up with her hand. Well, best laid plans and all. She wasn't going to give up on him yet, but it would take a little longer. She smirked, and maybe she could even use his magically inclined girlfriend as well. But how? Apate chuckled, warming up to the challenge. If everything went just right, victory would be so sweet . . . she wouldn't have to ever come back to this horrid place! Talk about incentive.

"Peter Cook . . . your days of freedom are numbered . . . as are yours, _Cassidy._"

* * *

As Peter came off the court for a break, he smiled at Cassidy. Cassidy held out a towel with a smile as well. "Having fun yet?"

"Always when I'm with you." Peter kissed the back of her hand, earning a laugh. Suddenly, Cassidy shivered, and Peter noticed.

"Are you cold?"

"No . . . I just have a feeling something bad's going to happen." The former guardian hugged herself. She had readjusted to life just fine (technology still baffled her at times, but she was warming up to it) and things had gotten sweeter when she met the hunky guy known as Peter Cook. But there were times when her old guardian powers insisted on trying to go haywire.

Like the former guardians, if she used her old guardian powers it would start to drain her lifeforce, but she still had surges of power that weren't connected to her former life as a guardian. Bad vibes, strange bursts of empathy (and she sure wasn't an empath, that was all Yannie Lin), and not to mention the latest issue that had sent her running to Candracar- seeing ghosts.

The Oracle had told her it was just a side effect of being resurrected after being dead so long, and that she was pretty much on her own to sort everything out. Cassidy sighed and absently grabbed Peter into a hug, needing the contact.

"Hey, it's okay." Peter hugged her back. He didn't mind having a slightly psychic girlfriend (she had mentioned having a bad feeling right before one of players had gotten a broken arm). Especially since she always knew what he needed even before he realized it himself. "How about we go get some Starbucks, and I'll walk you home."

"That sounds perfect." She smiled. And so the two left the game, unaware that they were being watched. As they left Apate sighed, and then headed to the next victim she was going to take to Nyx.

* * *

Alchemy flopped onto her bed, why did life have to get so difficult all of a sudden? Nightmares, her friends were distant, and there was no way she'd considered the Grumpers as friends, they'd already tried to backstab her twice! Elyon had moved away after the last year, something about moving closer to her family and her parents wanting to make something up to her. (Like she could blame her, since apparently all the guys she'd met in Australia were lining up at her door . . .) Which then officially left her alone, oh, Cornelia _tried _to include her, but she could tell that the blonde didn't know how to close the mysterious gap that appeared between them. Alchemy sighed and turned on some music, she couldn't wait for spring break . . . she needed some time to regroup, any more of the uphill battle that was school and her social life, and she'd be going crazy.

As Alchemy closed her eyes, she was unaware of Apate, in her true form, staring in her window.

* * *

Nyx studied the young woman Oizys had been approached by, and who'd spent the better part of a couple days in one of his impromptu cells. He had very little use for those who wanted their own revenge, too often they betrayed their allies to fulfill their goals. However, he could use a guard dog, a mindless one . . . calmly he used his magic to force Miranda into her spider form- and locked her inside her own mind. He made a few enhancements- eight legs instead of four, longer fangs, and strengthened the rather weak shell she had.

"Father?" Lyssa stared blankly at the creature before him. "Would it not have been better, if she had been kept human?"

"She's not a human from Earth, Lyssa. She wished to use me and us to further her own agenda. I have little patience to deal with such traitors." Nyx sighed. "For now, she will guard the treasure room." The creature that had been Miranda scurried off to obey.

"But what if she had information?" Lyssa tilted her head.

"Are you questioning me?"

"No, Father. I'm just curious." She bowed. "Forgive me."

"Nothing to forgive . . . you were made from a human, and they tend to be curious little creatures." Nyx put a hand under her chin to make her look up. "Unfortunately, I can't erase that from you, or you would lose your ability to battle those that would try to separate you from your family." Lyssa blinked.

"Then I shall not act on my 'curiosity' again, unless you give your consent."

"Good Girl. Now come, Apate should be bringing your next sibling soon."

"I'm right here, my Lord . . . this one is still in her nightmare."

"She'd refuse to join?"

"She believes that things will get better . . . she is remarkably resilient, though she has shown signs of temper and frustration since I've started . . . I need more power for the young men, and two extra that caught my attention." Apate sighed. "Time seems to no longer be our friend, for some reason."

"Very well . . . what is her name?"

"Alchemy, believe it or not. Her parents are left over from what the earthlings called the 'Hippees' or something. A very strange people . . . slightly more in tune to their world, but at the same time, very . . . out of tune of their world as well."

"Alchemy . . . the ability to change a substance from one thing to another, such a fitting name. Put her here and then leave once you've created the doppelganger." Apate obeyed, noticing Lyssa for the first time. "Oh, and Apate, if you're right, we can't afford to wait anymore. Bring in the next one as soon as possible . . . willing or not."

"As you wish. I'll bring the next one in an earth hour . . . he gets off work then." And with that Apate was gone, with a doppleganger of Alchemy in tow.

* * *

Andrew Hornby waved goodbye to a fellow waiter. He'd gotten saddled with a later shift than usual to cover for a waiter that had gotten the flu. Not that he cared, homework was done and it meant more cash for the weekend. Also, less time with the really bad nightmares.

"Why, Andrew, what are you doing here?" A girl his age came out of a Starbucks.

"Uh, Not much, on my way home." He took a moment to check her out. Good legs, slightly revealing top and short skirt . . . now if only he could figure out _who_ she was.

"Did you finish your history work for Collins? I had trouble." So, she was in his class, that was something to work with.

"I know, Total snooze fest trying to read the chapter!" She giggled. They turned down another street, this one totally empty. "So, what's a sweet babe like you doing out so late?"

"Hunting." Then everything went dark. "For you." Andrew crumpled to the ground and Apate smirked. Aparently, short skirts and a good chest size were very good for bait. "Three down, three to go . . . and before this night is over, it'll be four down, and two to go." Then she pulled the Teen in through the fold.

**Sorry, short chapter . . . next one will be longer, I hope . . .**


	14. Friends in Need

**Friends in Need**

Boughbreaker moved as fast as he could with the two humans on his back, one was leaking funny colored sap, and it didn't look that good. The other, one of the Guardians that he remembered helped him out of the 'sleep' he had put himself in. She was worried, and that made him worried.

"Boughbreaker, where have you been?" Ironwood and several other Zambalans surrounded them. "And why have you brought these two with you?"

"Ironwood! We need your help, he's hurt!" Irma cried out. "Please!"

"Guardian, trouble seems to follow us whenever we help you and yours."

"We helped pull several of you out of your sleep when there was little chance of you coming back on your own! All I ask is one favor, to heal my friend who has been hurt by one who wishes to destroy everything at random!" Irma saw Ironwood stiffen, and felt for sure she would say no, so she quickly changed tactics. "If you will not heal him, at least provide us with bandages or some other thing that will help bind his injury! That's all I ask."

" . . . Barkblossom, supply them with bandages. I will continue to hide us from the trespassers . . . and the guardian and her companion, Boughbreaker, as you brought them here, they will be in your charge." Ironwood turned and left. A tree with more flowers than leaves came over.

"We used the same material to make our queen's dresses and bedding. We have a bunch left over." Barkblossom gave them a long strip of fabric. "If you need anything else, please, let me know, Guardian."

"Thank you." Irma nodded. "Martin, uh, can you take off your tunic?"

"I think so . . . but you'll have to help. I can't use my right arm without it hurting." Martin winced, "Or start bleeding again. It's mostly clotted now."

"Okay." Irma helped him out of it, wincing when she realized that some of the cloth had gotten caught in the wound. "Uh . . ." Now what? Cornelia had first aid, not her. (Although she was starting to think that would probably be a good idea to take a course . . . along with CPR.)

"You need to wash it out, the wound. Otherwise it could get infected." Martin offered. "Boyscout, I learned first aid. I can walk you through."

"I thought you mainly did that bears thing."

"Well, Bears is more recent. I was a boy scout for a while . . . stopped going a couple years ago. Don't really know why." He winced as she ran water over the wound. "Needs to be a little more into the wound, Irma."

"But that's going to hurt you."

"I know, but it'll get the bad stuff out. Just do it quick." She nodded, and blasted the wound with water. He hissed through his teeth. "Okay, I think you got it, now you have to wrap it." It took a bit of instruction, but Irma finally managed it as night began to descend on Zambala. "There, that wasn't so bad now, right Passion Flower?" They used what remained of the fabric to form a sling so he'd keep his shoulder still and not be tempted to move his arm.

"Martin," Irma growled with annoyance, "I ever have to do that for you again, I will . . . think up something horrible to do to you!" She finished, a little lamely. It had been a long day, and she couldn't think of a suitable threat. Luckily, Martin picked up on that and didn't press the topic. She turned her attention to getting the blood out of the tunic, an easier task that helped her calm down a bit.

"Are you done?" Boughbreaker's question made them glance at the Zambalian. He had his eyes closed.

"Yes, Boughbreaker." He opened his eyes. "Thanks for helping us."

"You're welcome." He moved to lie next to them. "I'm sorry Ironwood didn't heal him."

"It's alright, when we leave, we can find someone that can." Irma patted his thick hide.

"After I get yelled at by Nigel and Eric." Martin gave a weak smile. "Boughbreaker, may I ask you a question?"

"Sure."

"Why don't you walk upright like the others?" Irma blinked.

"Oh . . . That's in my name." Boughbreaker sounded embarrassed. "I'm still young, and we Zambalans get our names when we learn to walk upright . . . which I _can_ do, I'm just clumsy. I break tree boughs when I do, and sometimes I break my own. It's not that uncommon of an occurrence, at least one in every generation is unable to walk upright."

"I bet it's still frustrating, though." Boughbreaker 'sway-nodded' at Martin's comment.

"Yes, it is. My name also comes from the fact I'm a bit . . . reckless? I tend to do things without thinking them through, which results in-"

"Bough breaking." Martin and Irma finished with smiles.

"Right!" Boughbreaker nodded. "What do your names mean?"

"Well . . . I uh, don't know." Irma blanked. She really hadn't thought about it much.

"I do. Irma's name means 'whole' . . . and my name means servant of the ancient war god . . . Mars." Martin explained.

"Really?" Irma blinked. "Huh, I never knew that . . . wait, _why_ do you know what my name means?"

"Oh, no reason." Martin turned slightly pink.

"Martin . . ." Boughbreaker watched in fascination as the man tried to shrink in on himself under the woman's look. Earthlings were such strange things, apparently, females were the dominate ones of the species, and the females could have wings.

* * *

"Nigel?" Taranee looked at him in concern. He had stopped dead suddenly and seemed frozen.

"Martin's hurt . . . But I can't get a grip on his or Irma's thoughts . . . they're too full of static, too far away . . . and going farther away." The lead Sentinel looked at her. "I've got to go."

"Then let's go, Irma might be in trouble as well." The two took off, both trying to get in touch with others. But while they were searching they had all moved too far apart. "All I'm doing is probably giving the others a headache!" Taranee growled, landing. Nigel landed as well- trying to find another's mind while running? Not as easy as it sounds. It drained a lot of energy.

"Then let's try together. But I don't think we'll be able to catch up with them tonight." Together they tried, but only managed to get a glimpse of all the others. They all knew something was wrong, but with night fast approaching, they weren't capable of getting to Martin and Irma.

"Well, Martin's alive, and Irma's less worried, but I still want to get moving at first light." Nigel sighed.

"Me too." Taranee sighed.

* * *

Cornelia had yelled in shock when she had been communing with the plant life. That was the first sign Caleb had that something had gone horribly wrong.

"Irma and one of the sentinel's were attacked- and the Sentinel was stabbed! One of the Zambalians got them out of there, but it was definitely the creeps we're after." Cornelia reported. Her hands were shaking.

"Where was it?" As the two headed in the right direction, Night quickly caught up to them, and Cornelia once again spoke with the plant life. "Well?"

"Everyone's bunking down for the night. Irma and her Sentinel are with the Zambalians, but the bastards we're after have vanished again." Cornelia sank to the ground. "I'm sorry Caleb, but I'm tired too."

"Don't apologize, night hunting isn't the brightest idea in any of the worlds." He sat with his back against a tree and let her relax against him. She called up vines to surround them, and to serve as an alarm system, should they be attacked.

* * *

The heart of Candracar had flashed suddenly, and Will and Matt had looked to see Martin get hurt. Will had then used the heart to scry where the others were as the trio had started to wing their way to the two that had been ambushed. As night fell, the trio had reluctantly settled down, taking refuge in the branches of a huge tree. That's when they discovered a rather unsettling bit of news.

"Will, I can't change back to myself." Matt tried several times, but he still retained the Shagon look. All that he could tell was happening was that the magic was just becoming less obvious.

"Maybe it's a side effect of the coins we're using?" Will tried to reason it out. She didn't dare test it out herself, that could leave her friends defenseless and after seeing what happened to Martin, that was the absolute last thing she wanted to happen.

"Makes sense, you used your real names to activate them, that means that your real bodies are being used . . . so you can't switch out of your magical ones." Aesop clacked his beak, proud of his deduction.

" . . . This will make sleeping more difficult." Matt sighed, wings sagging a bit. How had he slept when he was Shagon?

"Well, how'd you sleep when Shagon . . ." Will trailed off, not quite willing to finish the question.

"I'm trying to remember . . . I know Kor would curl up by my side, though." Matt tilted his head, making the mask glint in the fading light. "Hmm . . . let's try it this way." He lay down on his side, then pulled Will so they were spooning. Then he used his left wing to cover the two of them. "This alright?" his left arm draped over her, while he used his right to be a pillow.

"It'll do." Will smiled and wiggled to be a bit closer to him, making sure her wings were flat against her back at the same time. (Which wasn't an easy feat, and she just knew they'd be sore in the morning.) Aesop landed right in front of her face and tried to settle down. Getting frustrated, he flew to a smaller branch with a bell shaped flower, (not a carnivorous one, thankfully) which he used for a nest. "Night, Matt." Will quickly brought his hand up to kiss it. "Night Aesop."

"Night Guardian, Night Regent."

"Night Will," He gently tightened his grip around her waist. "Night Aesop."

* * *

Hay Lin had heard Irma cry out on the air. And she and Eric had immediately started to race back. They had made better time than the others, but they were still pretty far away.

Eric, however, had a different problem than everyone else. As soon as the sun had gone down, he might as well have downed a couple gallons of coffee. That, and it was like he could see better at night than he had during the day. Hay Lin was tired, and it caused a bit of a dilemma.

"Well, if I carried you?"

"That might work, but, what if we were attacked? Martin forms shields, not you."

"Oh, right . . ." Eric frowned. "Well . . ."

"We can't travel all night, I at least, need sleep . . ." Hay Lin propped her head up with her hand. "And I can tell we're closer to the palace, so why don't we travel until we reach it, then we can take a rest."

"Are you sure? If you're tired, I don't want to push you." Eric felt bad, but his element was the dark, and he'd always been more of a night owl.

"I'm sure, I can travel a bit longer." Hay Lin smiled.

"Okay, but tell me if you get too tired, okay? And we'll stop, even if we aren't near the palace." Eric took her hand. "Promise?"

"I promise." Hay Lin made it about two more hours before she couldn't stop yawning. Eric found a spot that pretty comfortable, and Hay Lin promptly fell asleep, while Eric stayed awake, keeping an eye out for any trouble. The night life of Zambala was beautiful, and he almost woke Hay Lin a few times . . . but guilt and the reminder that she needed to sleep right then stayed his hand.

"I hope tomorrow won't have me trying to sleep during the day."

* * *

Irma and Martin also settled down to sleep, though they didn't cuddle like everyone else. For one thing, they weren't dating, and for another, Martin's hurt shoulder would've objected to any unnecessary pressure. Boughbreaker allowed Irma to curl up on his back, and Martin to lean against him in a sitting position. Several other Zambalans came over, surrounding them and sleeping upright, looking incredibly like giant trees. Barkblossom covered the two in giant purple leaves, that were incredibly soft.

"Sleep well, Saplings . . ."

**In Meridian:**

Elyon approached Gargoyle, the weary _nymlem_ opened his eye, focusing on her. "Raythor informed me of your condition . . ." Elyon swallowed. One of her powers that she had discovered recently was the ability to converse with anything in Meridian, bar anything manmade.

'I didn't wish to concern you, your Highness.' Gargoyle's eye blinked.

"You're a friend, Gargoyle, of course I'd worry about you." Elyon touched his non-club arm. "Everyone worries about their friends."

'I'm glad I was able to make so many good friends, then.' Gargoyle saw her tense. 'I'm not leaving just yet, Your majesty, it takes more than a jumped up troll to kill me.'

"See that you don't . . . I'd ban you from fighting but I know you'd just ignore me and go ahead." Elyon sighed, and wasn't too surprised when gargoyle picked her up in his version of a hug. "D-do you know how long?"

'A few more years, yet. Unless we battle a very powerful mage.' Gargoyle shifted. 'Your magic is healing the land, so it's possible that I will regain all my strength and live for a very long time. That's why I didn't want to worry anyone. I'm already a lot stronger than I was . . . it takes a bit longer to regain spent energy as I age, is all.' Gargoyle reassured her. 'Raythor had no right to worry you.'

"I'm glad. And you can show Raythor your displeasure later." Elyon gently touched his chest and closed her eyes. "Though I am concerned about you having trouble regaining energy- aha!" She found the problem, and mentally cursed Nerissa. "I see the problem. When Nerissa gave you her energy to power you up, she made it so you ran primarily off of her magic, not from Meridian like you use to. It's an easy fix." As she corrected the magical problem, she smiled. Gargoyle promptly sat up.

'That feels better, your majesty.' He spoke in amazement. 'Much better.'

"And you would have continued suffering if Raythor hadn't told me you were having trouble. I think you owe him a thank you." Elyon smiled.

'**After** I scold him for telling you.' But Gargoyle gave a rumbling laugh. He set her down, and Sandpit swirled around her, happy.

"Hello, Sandpit, what is it?"

'The passling Jeek has been found.' The live sandman explained. 'He was caught trying to sell some of the guards' stuff.'

"And the duties of a queen never end. I'll, uh, speak with him in the lesser greeting chamber." Sandpit nodded and took off. "And Gargoyle, please, don't hide when you're in pain . . . it may be something I can fix, alright?"

'Alright.' Gargoyle watched her go, and then went to help fix the village; it was his fault some of the buildings were destroyed after all.

The lesser audience hall wasn't as nice as her usual one, it was rather cold, and the room somewhat reminded her of her brother. The perfect place to sentence criminals. (Which was the only time she even bothered with the royal 'we'. The rest of the time she spoke normally.)

Raythor held the chain holding the Passling. And he looked enraged.

"We understand that you and a guard released the criminal Miranda."

"Ehhehheh, Jeek, business man . . . never reveal why business was done." The passling attempted a cajoling smile. "Jeek wouldn't mind doing business with Queen of Meridian."

"You have committed more than one crime against Meridian and our person, Passling Jeek. While you might claim it was 'buisness', we find you guilty of not only treason but accomplice to the murder of innocents. Those charges alone warrant you a lifetime in our prison. If you cooperate, We are willing to lessen the sentenced time." Jeek's eyes had almost popped out of his head when he heard 'lifetime in prison'.

"Jeek help Miranda trick guard Tybald, yes, but not actually help escape."

"Trick? How?" Vathek demanded.

"Special plant, special medicine, open person to suggestion. Takes many small doses to be effective." Jeek nodded his head quickly. Raythor's grip on the chain tightened.

"I know what he's talking about- I believe Phobos once used the stronger dose on your parents Your Highness." Raythor growled.

"Yes, the guardians told us about that." Elyon's expression darkened. "Passling Jeek, you have earned several years off your sentence. But that still leaves you with a score in prison." She gave a dismissve gesture and two guards came to escort Jeek to prison.

"Your Majesty?"

"The prison has been breached several times this past year. I worry that it is not adequate to hold my brother and his rabble." Elyon admitted to both Vathek and Raythor. "Not only that, but it is getting crowded."

"Well, there is Cavigor." Vathek offered.

"Yes, but the distance alone makes transport impossible . . . and I do not wish to lock my own soldiers with them." Elyon sighed, and the trio entered the map room. "Plus, the guardians did a good job of wrecking it."

"And I'm afraid my existence here proves the Abyss of Shadows escapable . . ." Raythor acknowledged.

"And I can't release them, on the off chance of them causing a revolt." Elyon sighed. "Maybe if we redesign the prison?"

"That's a big 'If', Your Highness." Elyon's shoulders slumped.

"You're right." She sighed. "Our current prison is holding for now. Vathek, you are the warden, if you think of any way that we can improve upon it, please, either write it down or let me know. Then maybe we can stop my brother and his group from causing trouble . . . without lowering ourselves to his level." She stared at the map, as if it would give her an answer.

"Does something else worry you, my Queen?" Raythor watched her blink.

"I am honored by your concern, Raythor." She smiled. "It's just the issue with Julian being captured."

"I think we're all worried about that, my Queen." Raythor bowed his head.

"The guardians and Caleb are on it, though, so I'm sure they'll take care of it . . . and teach those that took him not to take what isn't theirs." Vathek crossed his arms. Elyon's smile became more genuine.

"I hope you are right, Vathek."

**In Candracar:**

The Oracle wasn't surprised when Kadma barged in during his meditation. As a guardian she had always been headstrong- a trait all Earth guardians shared. He could hear Halinor timidly trying to argue with her and smiled. Some things never changed.

"It's alright, Tibor, I was expecting them." He opened his eyes and looked at the two guardians. "Kadma, Halinor, what is it?"

"It-" Kadma had her mouth covered by Halinor.

"We're worried about Cassidy, Oracle. I know you said the strange abilities were a side effect of being resurrected-." Halinor began.

"But for once can you give us at least a better explanation!" Kadma had escaped Halinor. "I'd like to think we're old enough to at least understand whatever it is that is going on."

"That you are Kadma, but Cassidy is still young, and I wish for her to enjoy this second chance at life and love, without fearing it. If I told you, you'd without a doubt tell her." Kadma crossed her arms in a pout. "However, if a certain thing happens, I will tell her myself." The Oracle promised.

"Forty years and you still make me feel like a teenager!" Kadma huffed and stormed out.

"What 'certain thing'?" Halinor stopped herself from chasing her friend.

"With this new enemy, there now multiple ways for things to happen . . . You've thrown rocks into a pond before, have you not?" Halinor nodded. The Oracle created a 'pool' right in front of them, to become a visual aid for what he said next. "Right now, all our actions are like casting stones- creating ripples. Depending on where the rocks- our choices- land, changes where the ripples will go. If the ripples go in a certain way, say, all connect at a certain point-."

"You'll explain to Cassidy, if not, you don't have to." Halinor understood. "Thank you, Oracle. I think I understand now." He dispelled the illusionary pool. "And I apologize for Kadma . . . but with Cassidy alive again, we're all . . . a little protective of her and her interests."

"I am well aware of that. Don't worry, Halinor, I chose you all, I understand Kadma's motives very well." The Oracle tucked his arms into his sleeves. Halinor gave a nod and left. The Oracle closed his eyes. _Things have escalated quickly. The betrayal will never happen now, but I am worried for the guardians. _He opened his eyes. _Nyx has not remained idle, and his powers are growing . . . But perhaps I can take a more . . . proactive approach._ "Tibor, I am going to speak with our guest Alectra." With that he headed towards the lizard Arcgenian.

**Gargoyle, Sandpit and Raythor are all my favorite former villains. I don't know why, though . . . **


	15. Drawing Lines

**Drawing Lines**

Huggles slipped through the school with ease. He didn't even have to glamour as a human, he just hopped right into the vents and started to explore. And what he found made him nervous. Mandy, one of the nice girls that fed him and played with him and Will, wasn't herself either. In fact, she was a slightly different Not-person, darker, more evil-feeling.

Andrew, the crush of Irma's also felt that way . . . and so did Alchemy, and Matt's drummer friend, Joel. His little dormouse heart pounded, not liking the implications. He stayed in the vents all day, keeping an eye out for anyone else not really human.

It was in the teacher's lounge that he found the culprit . . . a female teacher that was flirting with a blonde man in glasses.

* * *

Apate was annoyed. Joel had actually managed to resist her illusions to a degree she had not been prepared for- she had been forced to completely crush his mind, which had resulted in a drain of her powers that set her back on taking Peter and Cassidy.

However, it wasn't a total waste . . . The Computer teacher, was slightly more aware than anyone else. It was clear his only ability was hunches, though. Hunches that were usually correct and apparently led him straight to her.

No matter, she could use the distraction . . . She had time to waste until her power came completely back.

Sylla was a little uneasy with the new guidance counselor . . . something about her seemed off. Not only did it piqued his curiosity, it also made him temporarily ignore the original reason he was here. Despite his misgivings, she became very easy to talk to, and he quickly forgot his unease.

"You're rather unique, aren't you?" He smiled over his cup of coffee. Who knew being a teacher was so draining? His usual coffee intake had gone up. Especially on a day dealing with Uriah and two lackeys in his class (which they usually skipped). He dreaded the week he'd have to cover detention. (He was fortunate that the first week he did it, Uriah and Co actually weren't sent to detention, the janitor instead oversaw them clean up all their numerous pranks.)

"All girls like to think they are, Professor Sylla . . . How are you adjusting? I noticed that on your file this is your first year teaching middle and highschool, you taught at a college before this, yes?" She sipped her herbal tea- caffeine made her sick, for some reason.

"Yeah, well, I'd like to think I'm doing alright . . . some kids are a little . . . more difficult to handle."

"Mm, it's the hormones, by college they've mellowed out and puberty is over, well, for most of them. Any in particular you need help with?"

"Uriah." Sylla gave a weak smile, "But I think he's a bit of a universal problem."

"Well, I can't give you the particulars, but his home life isn't very stable . . . so he has all the symptoms of a child searching for some . . . validation from his peers, even if it's just as a troublemaker. Unfortunately, I'm a little worried that he's going to take the long road to a healthy life, like I did-" The bell rang, and she sighed. "I best get back to my office . . . uh." She hesitated. "I enjoyed talking to you . . . if you need any help . . ."

"I still do . . . what do you say to going to the café down the street after school? My treat."

"I'd enjoy that . . . say, four o'clock?"

"Perfect." Sylla smiled as she left. "Guess she's not as bad as I thought."

Huggles shook his head. _You don't know the half of it . . . _He had to talk to Napoleon again . . . or maybe the Oracle, if he accepted long distance calls. Oh, Wait, Yan Lin! He had learned to write so he could communicate in regent form (not an easy task, his hands were for pounding, not writing) and she wouldn't send him away . . . even if she really didn't care for rodents. Oh, and she might have some tasty snacks! With that last thought, he scurried off.

* * *

"You're not very big on caffeine I see." Sylla smiled as Ms. Eppson ordered some peppermint tea.

"It gave me headaches, so I stopped drinking it." She gave a weak smile. "So, other than Uriah, who else do you need help with?"

"Well . . . it's a group of girls, actually."

"I think you gave yourself the answer with that one, but which group?"

"A varied one, Cornelia Hale, Will Vandom-"

"Ah, the fab five." She smiled, "What do you need to know?"

"Well . . ." He cleared his throat. "I could use your opinion of them."

"Well, it's a typical group of girls that don't have their own group. As you've seen, cheerleaders group together, jocks, etc. Well, the girls that don't join into one of the main groups risk becoming completely invisible to everyone's eyes if they don't group with others. Cornelia's outstanding enough to keep the group from disappearing, while the other girls all excel at their individual hobbies that keep them, while not popular, out of the danger of invisibility."

"So, there's no way they could be say, wiccans, or something cultish."

"Oh, that's possible, dabbling with the occult has become almost a parlor game in this day and age." She noted his surprise. "You might want to look up more articles, but girls are a bit more . . . easy to influence into it, the same way boys who lack attention will join gangs, throw rocks or graffiti the school. It can be a bid for attention, a hobby that stems from curiosity, or at the most dangerous level, it can drive them to do things that could endanger themselves and others. But that usually happens if the girls are lacking in self-esteem, something the five in question seem to have enough of."

"Okay. Now, here's an extremely hypothetical situation, but follows the same path. What if they were magical? Like fairies or something."

"Well, that's going into another interest of mine, folklore and mythology." Ms. Eppson leaned forward. "Now, keep in mind this is an opinion, but Mythology had to come from _somewhere_, and I've personally found it interesting that any accounts of mythical beasts, like dragons and large birds, are found all over the world, in places that should be impossible to have contact with outside influences. With that in mind, who's to say that they didn't exist?" Sylla leaned forward, interested. "I'm sure you've read Peter Pan, or seen it in some form?"

"Yeah, favorite book as a kid."

"Then you remember that if someone said that they didn't believe, a fairy would die? Well, let's go a little further . . . with people no longer believing, and ignoring the old ways and superstitions, magical beings probably were unable to do anything, and slowly merged with normal humans, or were forced into some sort of magical limbo- like the mythical Avalon. For those that merged, their unique abilities might be passed down . . . but even that would eventually die out over time." She leaned back. "So, is it possible? Maybe, but more than likely, they wouldn't understand what they were capable of, and would eventually close that door, in order to fit in. Us humans used to have more awareness of spirits and the like, but nowadays, we're so close-minded we wouldn't give anyone or anything different than us a chance."

"So, say puberty activates the powers, would they be able to turn them off?"

"Not right away. Or are you forgetting the emotional rollercoaster that came with said stage of life?" She gave him a look. "That's including emotional peer pressure and the need to be seen as something they're not. It'll be shaky for a bit, but eventually, the abilities would be locked away and forgotten, written off as just stress or given a logical reason."

"That makes a lot of sense." Sylla nodded. "You think such an occurrence could become out of control?"

"Not something that would be overly remarkable, the way I see it, if they don't believe it's magic, they'll ignore it and suppress it . . . or kill themselves because they can't understand it." A sigh escaped her.

"If they do understand it?"

"Then they won't announce it. The world today . . . it won't react well to reminders of the past. At best, if that happens, they'll just be ostracized and banished from society, at worst 'Big brother' would take them and experiment on them or something."

"Not a lot of faith in the government, huh?"

"Not a lot of faith in human nature . . . kids can get bullied for looking different from others, for acting different, and that's usually because the popular kids follow the standards set for them by society. It's a tough cycle to break, or even make falter." She gave a sad smile. "Besides, you know I'm right."

"Yeah, that's probably what would happen." Sylla reluctantly agreed, glancing at his coffee. He'd taken this assignment because he love mysteries, loved trying to figure things out, and he also had a fascination with the paranormal. This case had combined two in one for him. But suddenly, he wasn't sure snooping around was a good thing . . . people weren't getting hurt by the girls, more than likely they were being saved, if that cartoon had been anything to go by. (Mr. R thought it had.) "Thanks."

"You're welcome. Anyone else giving you trouble?"

"No. At least, not students."

"Uh-oh, which teacher did you have a fight with?"

"The janitor . . . I was trying to help with the PA system."

"Best I can give you is stay out of his way. I'm still new remember?" They spent the better part of two hours in the café. And Apate, for the first time since she was created, enjoyed herself with a human's company.

* * *

"Hey, Yannie." Cassidy smiled at her friend. "Can I talk to you?" She glanced to see that for dinner time, the Dragon was fairly empty.

"Of course. Come downstairs. My son is upstairs entertaining a few friends" Downstairs had Mira photocopying a new menu for the next day. "Mira, Cassidy is here."

"Oh, hello Cassidy. I best get upstairs if you're going to be down here." Mira smiled and hugged Cassidy before heading upstairs.

"So, boy trouble?"

"No, Peter's been wonderful to me . . . but I think something bad's going to happen, Yannie. And soon."

"How bad?"

"I don't know . . . I think it's already started . . . where are the guardians? I can tell those aren't them at school."

"Off world, trying to chase down people that kidnapped Julian, and stole Nerissa's Prison."

"What? When did this happen?" Cassidy's eyes widened.

"A few days ago. I thought Kadma would've told you?"

"No, while we were talking yesterday, she got flustered."

"Kadma, flustered?"

"I don't know how to explain it better than that. She said she had to go talk to Halinor."

"What did you say before that?"

"You think- I mentioned the bad vibes and ghosts I started seeing. Told her the Oracle said it was a side effect of being dead for awhile then resurrected."

"You see ghosts? That's new."

"Well, I see something." Cassidy shrugged. "Nerissa's prison was stolen . . . that's about the same time I started to feel really on edge." Cassidy's eyes darkened a bit.

"Cassidy . . ." Yan Lin put a hand on her shoulder.

"After all this time . . . I still don't know whether or not she really meant to kill me."

"What do you know?"

"She looked shocked right after she used her powers . . . like she hadn't meant to take it that far, I remember thinking that, as I fell . . . but she still didn't try to save me . . . but if she really wanted the heart, she would've taken it then- instead, she ran away. We were best friends, Yannie. You had transferred in, Kadma and Halinor were pretty much joined at the hip, and Nerissa and I had been friends since day care." Cassidy blinked as water dropped on her hands. She had started to cry. "But even though we were friends, even if it was inadvertent . . . she still killed me!" Yan Lin let Cassidy cry and sob on her shoulder. Halinor, Kadma and her had already cried, because they had lost two friends, not just one. Cassidy had not yet had a chance to fully cry over the betrayal, and truly accept it.

"For what it's worth, I think she truly was sorry." Yan Lin whispered. "I know that, as the Mage of Meridian, she always studied old magics, she even had books on theories of resurrection. As further proof, though the rest of us once again became hot old ladies-" Cassidy gave a choked laugh at Yan Lin's attempt at humor. "You stayed alive, when the release of her magic should have meant that you became a ghost once more."

"I know . . . I'm sorry I missed so much, though. I mean, you got married, and I couldn't really be there. Halinor's been in Candracar all these years, and Kadma was in Zambala, so I know that they never had children or even grandchildren . . ." Cassidy took a deep breath. "But I still . . . I remember I was allowed to watch you guys, on occasion, but those memories are all, blurry and dream like." She pulled back to wipe her eyes.

"True, but now you're a hot young Cougar." Yan Lin nudged her.

"Yannie!" Cassidy stared at her in shock.

"What? You are technically forty years older than your boyfriend."

"_Technically_. I might as well have used a time machine!" Cassidy started to turn pink. "Ugh, now I'm not going to be able to look at Peter for a bit! Not with that thought in my head!"

"Your problem for still staying friends with a happening old lady like me! Oh, and Mira, she's dating Zacharias Lyndon."

"Yannie . . . I wouldn't abandon you guys, no matter how old you were." Cassidy smiled. "Even if you do say things that make me want to hide in my room for the next forty years!"

"Yeah well . . . when it is my time to go, my spirit will be bound to Candracar as part of the council." Yan Lin smiled. "So I'll still be around, in one way or another. We're the first set of guardians that get that offer." Cassidy gave a small smile in return.

"Yeah . . . but I'm not going to think about that for a while, thank you very much."

"Oh, neither am I. But that's just in case I forget to tell anyone else that tidbit of information." Yan Lin smiled. "Now, how about tea, and you tell me about your boyfriend, and I'll tell you about my husband . . ." And the two former guardians settled down to talk.

* * *

Nyx smiled at the four former humans Apate had brought him. Lyssa was sitting on a rock, silent. Aite, who had been made from the girl, Alchemy, had her shoulder length hair pulled back by a thick black band, and a short black sleeves dress with grey gloves and knee high boots, with a gray mask that just covered her eyes. Morpheus, made from the human Andrew, wore a simple black jacket, loose pants and boots. The right side of his face was covered with a stark white mask and he had white gloves. Finally, Noros, made from the human called Joel, he wore a black hooded cloak, with a dark brown mask covering his lower face and glasses gone. All looked like young adults, no the teens that they once were.

"Now, it's time for you four to test your skills against our enemies . . . your older siblings, Oizys and Moros are waiting for you." The quartet moved, and Nyx opened a portal, smiling as they left. Nyx turned and walked down one barely held together hallway. He'd send in the former merdianite as back up, if nessecary. "Apate." The woman slipped up to him, a scowl on her face. "What is wrong?"

"Nothing you need to concern yourself with." Apate snapped.

"Apate, you do know who you're talking to, correct?" The tone was warm, but Nyx's eyes were ice.

"Yes." Apate hissed it out. But she bowed her head. "I . . . That world is making me sick!" She finally managed. "My powers drain so easily there, and the emotions are too pure, too easy, it's making me sick! My powers thrive on dark and deceit, and I'm getting so many emotions it's making me sick!"

"You've said that thrice . . ." Nyx studied her. "Shall I help?"

"Help . . . I want to bring in the last two quickly and my magic is weak." Apate growled. "I need at least two to help- just capture them and bring them against their will, I'm tired of playing by the rules!"

"All magic has a price, it's much easier when they give their consent, or wish to be different. To give 'permission' even though they don't realize it. However, from what I've seen, I think you can easily manipulate the boy Apate. His qualities that make him hard for your dark ways to exploit, will also be his downfall."

"How?" Apate crossed her arms. Being 'home' had soothed her temper, and had gone a long way into making her feel better. Earth magic was sickening to someone who's magic relied on millennia of pure suffering and pain (all of which that defined and built up Eclipse's natural magic.)

"Why, he loves so much, he'll do anything to keep those he loves safe." Apate blinked, and a smile crossed her lips.

"Anything to keep them safe . . . then I know just how to do it!"

"Good . . . now, while your siblings are engaged in Zamballa, I want you to go there . . . and I want you to get something for me."

**Before anyone points out that Joel didn't get his own scene . . . I had to cut it. It didn't fit into the rest of the chapter no matter how I worked it. I might just make it into a flashback of some kind in the future. **

**This might be my last post for a bit, college is starting up again, and well, I need to work on that more than I need to work on fanfiction. I do have a couple more chapters almost done, so I might be able to get them out sooner, but again, don't be too expectant . . . school, unless it's literature class, always kills me.**


	16. Friends in Deed

**Friends In Deed**

"Mm . . ." Will opened her eyes. She was nice and warm . . . not actually comfortable, but she could live with that. Sometime during the night, her sleeping partner's tail had wrapped around her legs. The arm around her waist gently tightened, and the wing that been a blanket shifted a bit.

"Morning, Will." Yeah, she could live with this. It took a few moments to maneuver, but she managed to roll herself so she could face Matt, without crushing her wings in the process. "Sleep okay?"

"Yeah, pretty good actually." Will smiled. Before anything else could be said or even done for that matter-

"Good Morning! Ready to go?" –Aesop completely wrecked the mood. Will gave a soft groan and buried her face into Matt's shoulder.

"Five more minutes?" Her muffled voice made Matt smile behind his mask.

"As much as it hurts to say, I don't think we can afford five minutes . . . can you check the heart and find out where the others are?" Reluctantly, the two got up, Matt stretching his wings and wincing when one gave a soft 'pop'. "Not to complain, but next time can we find a softer tree?" Will flapped her wings to work out any kinks that had developed during the night.

"We can ask Cornelia." She smiled, and held up the heart, "Now, to find everyone else . . . heart, show me where the Water Guardian is." The heart showed Irma sleeping on a Zambalian's back, While Martin, still in sentinel mode, was waking up and touching his shoulder in pain. The Zambalian shifted, and Irma woke up. "Okay, at least they're okay . . . we'd better get going."

* * *

Eric sighed as the sun came up. He had dozed off in catnaps during the night, but now some of the feelings of being supercharged were wearing off. Out of some sort of instinct, he shifted so he was more in the shade of the tree, before pausing. _Great, now I'm acting like a vampire._ With a sigh he gently woke Hay Lin. He was a little surprised at how much she snored, but he was able to tune it out. His grandfather snored louder than she did.

"Yaahhh . . ." She yawned, and had a look of panic brush her face before she remembered the previous day's events. "Oh, hey."

"Hey You . . . good sleep?"

"Very good- oh." She stretched out the kinks in her system. "Kinda thirsty- Oh!" She started to turn red. "Um . . ."

"It's okay, my grandfather snores louder . . . I can hear him even though my room is down the hall from his." Eric kissed her cheek. "I use to beg for a separate room when we had to stay in hotels, I finally learned to tune it out though."

"You . . . don't mind?"

"Nope." She cheered and grabbed him in a kiss. Both started floating, when they pulled apart, Eric reluctantly brought them back to reality. "We better get going. Can you hear the others?"

Hay Lin put a hand to her ear. "Yeah, everyone's waking up . . . oh." She turned pink and stopped listening. "We're the closest to Irma and Martin."

"What was-"

"The others were doing something similar to what we were doing. Let's leave it at that." The two then took to the air. "Oh, did you get any sleep?"

"Some, but not much. I'll be alright, though."

* * *

Nigel and Taranee woke up a little more, unpleasantly. The tree they had fallen under was a fruit tree, and every morning, it would drop the fruit that had ripened. Unfortunately, the fruit in question was the size of a beachball, though it was rumored to get even bigger during the end of the Zambalan year.

"Yow!" Taranee jerked up. Nigel coughed and sat up, it took a moment for both to realize that the 'attacker' was a fruit, and who they were sleeping next too. "Well, now I have new respect for my parents . . ." Taranee adjusted her glasses.

"Yeah, jumping on their bed to get them up on Christmas morning must've hurt." Nigel yawned. "We'll start heading towards the others in a minute."

"Why a min-!" Taranee was cut off by Nigel kissing her. She kissed back, but then they reluctantly broke apart. "Good morning to you too." He helped her up.

"Let's try and find the others before we get moving, someone has to be close." Still holding hands, they boosted their telepathy to find the others.

"Cornelia and Will are still pretty far away." Taranee could feel them moving. "Hay Lin and Irma are the closest to us . . ."

"Martin's okay, but he needs a healer, he can't fix his wound anymore than he has." Nigel picked up on his fellow sentinel's State with some relief. "Let's go?"

"Yeah, let's." She picked up some things from him as well. _And of course, being a guy, he won't admit he worries about Martin like an older sibling worries about a younger one. Why do guys get all defensive about that anyway?_ The two took to the air quickly.

* * *

The large cocoon of vines disapated as Cornelia stretched. Caleb shrugged on his jacket, which had been used as a blanket by the two of them. Two of the vines wrapped around her, telling her everything that had happened that morning. "Good news, we're not too far away from where the creeps attacked Irma. But we're closer to Irma and the sentinel, as well as Ironwood and the rest of the Zambalans."

"Then let's meet up with Irma, she might be able to tell us something."

* * *

"Your friends are coming." Ironwood announced to Martin and Irma later that day.

"Irma!" Hay Lin flew in, and Eric landed a moment behind her. "Are you okay?" As Irma was tackled in a hug by a concerned Hay Lin, Eric approached Martin.

"Martin . . . you holding up?"

"Yeah, give or take the fact my shoulder aches." Martin winced as he sat up a bit more. "The sling is to help keep my shoulder still, so I don't re-open it."

"I'm glad you're alright . . . What happened?"

"Martin, you're okay!" Hay Lin gently hugged him. "We were worried."

"Well, I'm alive . . . I dodged mostly out of the way." Martin flushed at the attention.

"Yeah . . . and I vote we wait till everyone gets here before telling the story over and over again." Irma offered an apple like fruit to Eric. "Breakfast? It's pretty good, that one tastes like bacon." He stared at the strange colors on it before taking it and taking a bite.

"Hey, you're right . . ." Eric blinked.

"How'd you find Ironwood and the others?"

"Boughbreaker here brought us to them." Irma explained to Hay Lin.

"Boughbreaker? Didn't he look different?" Hay Lin blinked at the tree. She remembered him as looking like he was walking on his hands.

"I hit my branching spurt." Was the Zambalan's explanation. "I'm still small, but in a few more human decades, I'll be bigger!"

"How long do Zambalans live?"

"From what I heard from mom, about ten times the lives of humans."

Nigel and Taranee arrived a couple hours later.

"Are you guys okay?" Taranee watched as Nigel studied Martin's shoulder.

"We're alive, we'll tell everyone else the story when they get here."

When Caleb and Cornelia arrived, Cornelia got quite a shock when she found out who the Sentinels were.

"_That's_ Martin?" Cornelia took in the still tunic-less sentinel. "I don't see how . . ." Martin shifted, embarrassed. Cornelia had trouble seeing the geeky kid with the horrible and painful laugh in the young man before her. Caleb, however, let loose several rapid fire questions.

"-What happened to Oizys and his goon? –Wha?" Caleb's questions were deterred by Irma, who blasted him with water.

"We'll talk when Will gets here. Not before!" She crossed her arms and sat next to Martin.

However, the guardians had forgotten one important detail, which they should have told Ironwood before Will and Matt showed up.

"YOU!" The Heart of Zamballa flashed in Ironwoods grip and vines quickly shot out of a nearby tree to ensnare Matt and pull him rather violently to the tree's trunk. Matt gave a cry of pain, but didn't try and fight back as the vines tied him to the tree. "What is the meaning of this?"

Namely, they should have mentioned that Matt was with them and no longer under Nerissa's control.

"Ironwood, stop!" Will quickly moved in front of Matt. "He was enthralled by Nerissa, just like Queen Kadma, he didn't mean to hurt anyone! He was under her control!"

"Then why does he still wear her symbol if he does not serve her?"

"Uh, what's going on?" Nigel whispered the question to Taranee.

"Long story . . ."

"Matt was kidnapped by an enemy of ours, Nerissa, and she put him under a spell so he would obey her. Will helped him break free, but while he was under her control, Nerissa had him attack this place with others that served her. They did a lot of damage." Irma gave him the cliffnotes and then winced as the vines tightened around Matt as Will and Ironwood spoke. "And Ironwood and all the other Zambalans can really hold a grudge."

"Why is he here?" Ironwood glared at Will.

"To try and make up for it!" Matt shouted out, gaining their attention. "Ironwood, I am sorry for what I did under Nerissa's control, and I am trying to atone for all of that, even if she was pulling the strings, I still feel guilty for letting her capture me and what she had me do." Ironwood didn't speak, so he quickly went on. "I've become a Regent to my home world's heart, and to aid the Guardians of Candracar in order to payback what I owe. As to why I still wear her symbol, The Heart of earth has yet to choose her own, and until that time, I wear this as I reminder as what I've done." Matt felt the vines start to loosen. "I fully accept any punishment you wish to give, Ironwood, as you are the keeper of this world's heart, and offer myself at your mercy."

_Should we do something?_ Nigel silently asked the group.

_No, Ironwood has to make the decision, We interfere, she'll never forgive us, or Matt._ Will shot that idea down right away. _Just stay where you are._ It was a tense moment that seemed to stretch for a long time, but the vines released Matt and he landed on his feet, though he quickly dropped to his knees. Partially to show submission and partially because he was still sort of shaky after having the life almost squeezed out of him.

"It is within my rights to forbid you to stay on this world . . . but I shall not." Everyone stayed silent. "Our Queen confided that she felt unworthy after Nerissa had used her, though we still believe her to be the best and fairest queen we have ever had. I shall not pass judgment, as it is clear that you are telling the truth. However, should you attack us again, I will certainly demand that you never step foot on Zambala, or fly through our skies."

"I understand and accept your judgement, Ironwood." Matt stood up, flaring his wings to keep balanced. Ironwood just turned and walked to where several other Zambalans were standing.

"Well, that turned out better than I expected." Will landed, quickly supporting Matt. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I will be . . ." Aesop flew overhead to land on Nigel's shoulder. "Everyone else okay?"

"We're all alive, if that's what you're asking, Ironwood was only mad at you, not us."

"Irma!" Taranee shook her head as the Water guardian held up her hands.

"Well, we're all here, now can you tell us what happened?" Caleb brought their attention back to the matter at hand.

"Alright, you guys might want to get comfortable." Irma explained how they were attacked. "Martin dodged, but that creep- Oizys?- he still got him in the shoulder. Martin shot out a beam of light from his left hand that sent Oizys flying. That seemed to be the end, cause as soon as I broke out of the Troll's grasp, the two started to retreat. I blasted them with water. Oizys said they'd be back, when the round really starts. Boughbreaker found us, and while he was taking us here Martin healed himself a bit."

"Eric, you're bored?" Hay Lin glanced at her boyfriend who yawned. How he was bored when a friend was in danger was beyond her.

"No, I'm just . . . the sun is making me sleepy." Eric shook his head, and then moved into the shade provided by a tree. "Ah, that's better." He actually perked up a bit once he was in the shade.

"Well, looks like Alectra and I were worried for no reason. Your powers are developing nicely."

"How is Eric being sleepy thanks to _light_ not a reason to worry?"

"His element is darkness, or shadows if you prefer. He can get energy from shadows or shade."

"So . . . he's whatever the opposite of solar power is?"

"Right. What's solar power?" Taranee sighed.

"Well, that explains why I felt really charged last night . . . this isn't going to be an issue, is it?"

"No, though you will have some struggles right now, once you master it, you'll be able to function like you use to, it's just your body adjusting to the power."

"That's good, I was worried I was going to become a vampire or something." Eric earned a laugh from that statement.

"How long have you had your powers?"

"Well, it's March so . . . since the being of February." Martin shrugged, then regretted the action.

"So, you're all pretty much untrained." Will realized.

"Well, yeah. Alectra and I have done the best we could to coach them, but . . . it's been a couple of centuries since all three elements have been in use." Aesop clacked his beak, trying to think.

"Well, apparently those two won't show themselves until 'round three' starts. We can use that time to train." Will nodded to herself. "Martin, can you heal yourself anymore?"

"Maybe, I don't know."

"Couldn't you use the heart to heal him?" Both Will and Nigel looked at Boughbreaker, the young Zamballan had been listening to them. "The heart of Zamballa can heal us Zamballans."

" . . . It's possible, Nerissa used the heart of meridian to heal Kor after he had gotten injured." Matt offered.

"That reminds me, you still have to clear up how the heck you wound up evil or whatever." Nigel gave Matt a look. "I don't think I can heal, Martin's the one with healing powers, not me." He added to everyone.

"I'll try, but I need to see the wound. But before we do that . . . girls, I need to check something, but to do it, I have to power us down." Will stood up.

"Okay." As they stood around Will, they just waited for something to happen. The heart flashed, but nothing changed.

"Uh, Will, what's going on?" Hay Lin glanced at her wings, still attached to her back.

"Aesop thinks that since we used our names to activate the coins, we can't turn into our true selves. Matt couldn't change back last night." She let the heart rest. "And I can't power us down either."

"I don't want to try it, not until Martin's healed . . . but I think you're right." Nigel conceded.

"Matt can't change back- Wait, can he even take the mask off?" Irma brought up a point that had been bothering her for a while.

"_He_ is standing next to you, Irma. And, yes, I can remove the mask . . . I've done it once." Matt crossed his arms, a little annoyed, and now even more self conscious. He'd never actually tried removing it himself, Will had taken it off once, shortly after he had become powered up by the Heart of earth, but that was it. He usually powered down if they were going to kiss.

"Oh. What do you look like without it?"

" . . . Me. Older and grown up, but still me." That's what Will had said, anyway. He hadn't been interested in looking into a mirror.

"Ooh, can I see? You need to eat, by the way."

" . . . Fine." As Will turned her attention to patching up Martin, Matt removed his mask. It was Matt's face, more mature and handsome, but still Matt.

"Damn, Will, can I steal your boyfriend?" Irma wrapped her arms around Matt.

"No, Irma, get your own." Irma grinned at Will's playful glare. Matt, however, stretched his wings. He was slightly uneasy about Irma hanging onto him. "Now hush, I need to concentrate."

"Why do you wear it, anyway?"

"It's comfortable." Irma saw his eyes darken a bit, and she chose not to push further.

"Well, your choice, here, these taste good. Don't touch the watermelon colored orange, it tastes funny. And by funny, I mean like raw fish." Irma instructed.

Will saw Nigel pale when he saw the gash on Martin's shoulder. It didn't look that great to her either. She held the heart over his shoulder, and closed her eyes.

"I don't wanna watch." Boughbreaker shut his eyes, and Hay Lin and Cornelia comforted the walking tree. "The sap that leaks out is an unnatural color."

"If, uh, sap leaks out of humans that isn't clear, it's called blood, Boughbreaker."

"The word even sounds unnatural!" Boughbreaker shuddered. "Wait, why do humans leak clear sap?" He cracked one eye open.

"That's called sweat, and it helps us cool down when it gets too hot." Hay Lin sat on his shoulder.

"Oh . . . that doesn't sound too bad."

The heart of Candracar started to pulse, and then slowly began to heal Martin up. It was a strange sensation, but it took a couple minutes for the wound to completely heal.

"How's that?"

"Better." He flexed his arm and shoulder. "A little sore, but I can work with this."

The next few days were spent training and catching each other up. Needless to say, the sentinels had several epiphanies during the days. Ironwood tolerated them, but clearly was keeping an eye on whatever Matt did. If she wasn't there, it was another, stiffer, Zambalan. Hay Lin found out his name was Stonebark. Boughbreaker, on the other hand, often helped them with training. He was curious about humans, and despite his mother's misgivings, was enjoying his time helping the guardians and company.

"You'd think they'd trust us a little more." Irma huffed. She flew up to where Matt was perched on a branch.

"It's not you they're watching." Matt pointed out. He was watching Caleb help Nigel with his sword training. "And it's understandable, afterall, what I did as Shagon isn't completely forgive-and-forget-able."

"Still . . . They don't have to be so obvious about it." She crossed her arms and leaned against the trunk. "It's almost like they're hoping you go evil again."

"I don't think that's the case." Cornelia's powers shook the tree they were in, and Matt's tail looped around the branch he was sitting on. "Watch it!"

"Sorry! Eric vanished on me!" The Earth guardian glanced at the other trees. "That shadow trick of his is really annoying, and he and Hay Lin keep teaming up." She turned to Will, who along with Aesop was acting at the supervisor for the spar, just as the mace and chain wrapped around her waist. With a sharp tug on the other end, and a quick blast of air, she fell to the ground. "Ah!" A quick flash of light, and the mace chain disintegrated. "Never thought I'd say this, but thanks Martin." He helped her up.

"Not a problem."

**

* * *

**

On Earth:

"Hmm . . . this does sound like something is up . . . Looks like your bad vibes are right." Yan Lin glanced at Cassidy over the papers Huggles had written on. The Dormouse was now happily munching on some crackers and nuts in his normal form. "You might want to keep your eyes open at school as well."

"Like I needed this!" Cassidy slumped onto the cot. "Where did the guardians even go?"

"If they're using not using astral drops, it must be because the Oracle thinks they'll need all the magic they have. They'll be fighting for their lives."

"Yeah . . . so it's up to us to try and keep an eye on things here?" Cassidy sighed.

"For the time being, and please, remember, you aren't hooked into an auramere, so don't use your guardian powers."

"I'll remember."

"As for you, stick close to home, alright?" Huggles reluctantly nodded. "Good, we don't need a regent in trouble and captured by animal control."

"I'll take you home." Cassidy petted the dormouse. "And I'll even keep you filled in, somehow." Huggles perked up at that.

**Well, I realized as I was writing that the Zamballans didn't know Matt had gone from bad to good . . . and Ironwood struck me as the type to hold a grudge. Next up, a battle and some romance.**


	17. Rumble in Zamballa

**Rumble in Zamballa**

_Blood. A lot of it, it practically covered the ground. But that wasn't the issue. A huge spider in a tree had a wrapped body. There were figures in the woods, moving, perhaps even searching. "What's happening, what's going on?"_

"_Trust . . ." A faint whisper, and the once frozen Tableau began to move. "Trust . . ."_

"_Who? Trust Who?" the blood moved, trying to grab him. "Or what?"_

"_Trust . . ." The whisper got stronger, and the red liquid suddenly turned into a wave that was about to drown him. _

Martin sat bolt upright, gasping for air. A quick glance around showed everyone was still sleeping. Cornelia was cuddling with Caleb, Irma has once again fallen asleep on Boughbreaker's back, this time joined by a snoring Hay lin. He was reminded of kittens he had seen in a pet store, with the way the two had curled up back to back. Aesop had gotten grabbed by Hay Lin when the bird had tried to nest nearby and was now being cuddled like a stuff animal. Funnily enough, the bird's snores were joining Hay Lin's. Will and Matt were in a tree, though how Matt was capable of sleeping with the mask on was still a question he hadn't figured out. Taranee and Nigel were a few feet away, Taranee's head on Nigel's chest. And Eric . . . was wide awake and looking at him. It wasn't anywhere near dawn yet.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, just a dream. A weird, freaky dream." Martin sighed.

"Nightmare?"

"No . . . not really . . ." Martin removed the visor to rub his eyes. "Just, different." He rolled over and pretty quickly fell back asleep.

" . . ." Eric sighed and glanced up at the night sky. The constellations were completely different from Earth's, Barkblossom had told him a few. There were the three crowns, a group of nine stars that resembled three triangles, the heavenly vine, which was their version of the north star, and there was Starwood and her enemy, Jubokko. He'd enjoyed listening to the stories attached. With a sigh, he leaned back and glanced at his right hand. He'd discovered this the other night, but if he focused hard enough . . . he could gather darkness around it. He practiced while he waited for the night to end and everyone else to get up.

"Mmm . . ." Hay Lin woke up, as did Martin, right as the sun hit them. She put Aesop down and quickly flew over to where Eric was sitting in the shade of a large tree. "Morning."

"Morning to you, too." He smiled and tugged her into an embrace. "How'd you sleep?"

"Great!" Gradually, everyone began to wake up.

"You know, I'm sorta getting tired of the fruit and veggie diet." Irma muttered as she ate one of the bacon-tasting fruits. "I could go for some Dragon."

"Humans eat dragons?" Boughbreaker asked, curious.

"No, 'Dragon' is the name of my family's restaurant, we cook a certain type of food called Chinese, and it's got a good portion of meat." Hay Lin explained.

"Oh. I see. That's what your grandmother did for Queen Kadma, after she tried to 'cook'." Boughbreaker gave a swaying nod as he contemplated this new idea. "I wonder if I could visit earth someday, it sounds fascinating."

"Maybe someday, you will." Hay Lin smiled. As they finished breakfast, Caleb was almost stepped on by a Zamballan who rushed into the clearing.

"Ironwood, they are back! And they have reinforcements!"

"And so do we." Ironwood straightened. "What's the situation?"

"We've counted four more, but one has defeated Stonebark with just a touch!"

"That doesn't sound good." Matt's wings flared as he crossed his arms.

"Where are they?" Will flew to be eye level with the Zamaballans.

"By the temple. I'll show you." As the group made to leave, Ironwood noticed one extra.

"Boughbreaker, you are staying with me." The young Zamaballan huffed.

"But Mother, I want to help."

"It's too dangerous, my acorn, you have to stay here with me." Taranee glanced at Will. Maybe it was just them, but Boughbreaker was sounding more and more like a young teenager.

And if his mother wasn't careful, he'd try and run into trouble instead of stay out of it.

"Your mother is right, Boughbreaker, this could be a trick to draw defenses away from her. You need to stay here and help protect her!" Hay Lin chirped. Ironwood shifted, clearly about to correct the guardian.

"Ironwood, he needs to feel useful right now," Will quickly whispered to her. "If he feels like he's capable of fighting, he'll try and disobey you to prove himself. None of us want that to happen."

"The Guardian of Air is correct." Ironwood gave Will a sway-nod, understanding. "There is the possibility that the fight will come this way, and there are several young pods as well as myself that need defending Boughbreaker."

"Then I won't let you down!" Boughbreaker straightened as best he could.

"You never could, my acorn." As the mother and son began working on the protections for the Zamballan camp, Matt picked up Caleb and the group quickly flew to the battle.

"Okay everyone, remember the game plan and be careful!"

"Holy-!" Martin gaped. Three Zamballans had activated their armor of sleep, and Stonebark lay on the ground, looking an awful grayish yellow. There were holes and craters in the ground, and what looked like a Zamabllan's arm, though slightly mangled. The six attackers looked up, but made no movement as they landed.

"I told you there would be more players when the round really started, did I not?" Oizys smiled, "And my siblings were more than happy to comply."

"Siblings?" Will raised an eyebrow. "So I take it destroying other lives is a family trait."

"Say what you will, but please, allow me to introduce them. Lyssa, Aite, Morpheus, and Noros, oh, and you've already met my other brother, Moros."

"Noros and Moros . . . Sounds like your parents were lousy with names." Irma quipped.

"Shall we dance? I think we have enough partners if you share." Oizys mocked.

"Guardians Attack!" Will and the four girls led the charge, Martin very quickly went over to where Stonebark was.

"Sentinel . . ."

"Take it easy, what happened to you?" It looked like the bark that made up the Zamballans hide was starting to peel in places.

"The one hidden in the cloak, he just touched me . . ." Stonebark's eyes started to close. "Look out!"

Martin whirled and quickly threw up a large shield. Noros hit the shield and was sent flying back. "Ha!" his moment of victory was short lived, Noros got right back up and slammed his hands into the shield. Some sort of dark mist began to form around Noros' hands.

"What the heck?" Irma had blasted Lyssa with water, expecting her to go flying back. Instead she had dissolved into a reddish-black liquid. She then got a shock as Lyssa reformed quickly, right in front of her and suddenly she had a fist into her stomach . . . even though Irma had tried to send her flying. "Oomph!"

"Irma!" Matt blasted a hole through Lyssa, getting between her and Irma. "You alright?" Lyssa tumbled back, before getting up again. But it took her longer to completely pull herself back together.

"Yeah . . . I don't know what she's made of, but it's not water." Irma took several deep breaths. An upside to her guardian form, once she got over the fact that she was definitely hotter, was the fact that she healed quicker.

"Then let's trade partners. You take Morpheus, I'll take Lyssa."

"Deal." Irma shot into the air and doused the guy with water.

Taranee, Hay Lin and Eric took on Moros, who had grown a couple stories once they had started fighting. Taranee and Hay Lin had already made him loose his grip on the club (red hot weapons were very hard to hold onto, anyway) but he had no problem uprooting a tree to try and swat them from the sky.

"Oh, D-!" Cornelia started to swear as Aite held out her hands, and made the large boulder Cornelia was about to throw glow and then explode. "-amn . . ."

"I'm going to throw this whole place into ruin." Aite then made several more objects explode, as Cornelia telekinetically kept the debris from hitting herself. "Too bad my powers don't work on living beings. I bet you'd make a pretty explosion."

"Eww, no thanks . . . but I bet you'd make a good garden accessory, like, say, a trellis!" Cornelia summoned some vines to wrap her in a cocoon.

"Isn't this fun?" Oizys grinned, "Though three on one is hardly fair . . . for you." Will, Caleb and Nigel were in front.

"Wanna bet?" Caleb and Nigel both rushed him from the sides. Oizys just blasted Caleb away into a tree, before changing his hand into a claw to stop Nigel's sword. While the two traded blows, Will checked on Caleb who was trying to shake the hit off.

"You alright?" Caleb just blinked at her.

"Yeah . . . when did your altermere come back?"

"I'll take that as a no." Will sighed. "Stay out of this fight, okay? Help someone else." Then she was back in the fight, helping Nigel.

Martin had the feeling he was losing the fight, against whatever Noros was doing. Already his shield had shrunk to just covering his hands to try and push back whatever the dark mist was. He just knew that it wasn't going to be good for his health. "What . . . is that?"

"A disease . . . wanna try it?"

"No . . ." Martin chose another tactic, quickly pulling as much light as he could into his shield. "Not today!" He blasted Noros with the light, sending the man flying, almost hitting Nigel in the process. "Whoa . . . that was cool . . ." He glanced at his hands, before remembering Stonebark. The sick Zamballan was struggling to breathe now. "And I don't know if I can even heal diseases . . . that's a lot different from wounds." Gently he put his hands on Sonebark's rough hide, and closed his eyes to focus on healing.

Caleb had finally got the world to stop spinning on him as he got to his knees. Will and Nigel had taken their battle with Oizys to the sky, and pretty much out of his reach. Taranee was now taking on the cloaked guy. Blinking away spots as he stood, he moved to cover Martin.

Irma wasn't exactly sure what happened, and her later explanations never made sense either, but one minute she was landing after slamming Morpheus into a tree, the next he had her by her throat and was slamming her into another tree. The sudden lack of air made her panic, and she while one hand was trying to pry his hands off her throat, the other managed to grab the white mask off. (Not her actual intention, she meant to scratch his eye out.)

"An . . . Andrew?" She managed. It might've been a hallucination from the lack of air, but it sure looked like him. Morpheus let her go in favor of putting his mask back on. Irma could breathe again. "Is that-?"

"My name is Morpheus." He corrected. "Goodnight, Guardian." He held up one hand, but before he could do anything, Irma blasted him with water, and right off his feet.

"Good night yourself!" Irma tucked some wayward hair behind her ear. _It's not Andrew, it's probably a look alike or something. They say everyone has a twin . . . somewhere._ And with that, she banished the thought from her mind, all set to go back to kicking butt.

Hay Lin and Eric sent Moros crashing to the ground like a huge tree, though he shrank to lessen the impact. Hay Lin continued to blow him into a heap with Morpheus. In the air, both Nigel and Will sent Oizys plummeting to the ground, right on top of the two already downed. Hay Lin then went to help Matt, and together they sent Lyssa flying into Aite. Irma then washed them into the group.

"Looks like you're the ones that fail this round." Will landed, and they all watched warily as the six pulled themselves up.

"I don't think so, Keeper . . . right, Water Guardian?" Oizys grinned. "We already have the cards to beat you."

"Irma?" Irma just held her hands up in surrender. She didn't know what he was talking about, either.

"Well, it doesn't matter . . . Apate's gotten what we came for by now . . . the next world, you all should have your act together!" A fold opened behind them, and they quickly retreated.

"What did he mean by that . . ."

"I don't know, but we've got to get back to Ironwood." Martin suddenly yelped, drawing their attention, and pulled back from Stonebark, his legs giving out from under him. Caleb caught him from doing a face-plant in the dirt. "Martin?" The group moved over as Caleb helped him sit against a spare boulder.

"I can't . . . I can't heal this . . ." Martin gestured to Stonebark. "It's so . . . aggressive, dark . . . I can't even stop it. He's going to die." Martin looked like he was about to cry.

"You did the best you could, Martin." Nigel gripped his friends shoulder.

"C'mon, we've got to talk to Ironwood . . . something's happened." Will bit her lip and glanced at the three zamballans locked in their armor. "We'll have to come back for them. Send help."

When they arrived back at the main Zamballan camp, Ironwood was distraught. Bitterroot, her mate, was comforting.

"Ironwood, what happened?" Will had a feeling that she knew, but she needed to hear it.

"Boughbreaker is gone . . ." Ironwood's gaze was between mournful and angry. "This Pod saw it . . . a woman with a strange mask was talking to him, and then he _willingly_ went with her." She gestured to a tiny Zamballan, barely human size, with rather weak looking legs.

"Was this mask, uh, the same color as this fruit, and did the woman have the same color hair as hers?" Nigel pointed at Irma.

"Yes."

"That's Apate, alright . . ." Nigel made a fist. Will quickly filled Ironwood in. A little while later, the groups had saved the other Zamballans from their armor of sleep, but not even a combination of the Heart of Zamballa and Candracar could help Stonebark.

"Why take Boughbreaker? He's a kid like us!"

"I don't know, Irma . . . I do know that we need to go to Candracar."

"We won't get any answers."

"We'll at least find out which world they've gone too." Will retorted. "And we'll find out what happened to Boughbreaker."

"I cannot leave Zamballa." Ironwood suddenly loomed over them. "So I must ask this of you . . . will you please bring back my acorn."

"We will do all in our power to do so, Ironwood." Will promised. And then they were stepping through the fold into Candracar.

"Welcome back, all of you." The Oracle greeted them.

"Oracle . . . we've got a lot of questions." Will let out a breath.

"I know." The Oracle nodded, briefly closing his eyes. "And I will do all I can to help."

"First off, where's my sister? I'd like to talk to her." Aesop fluffed his wings a bit.

"Currently, she is doing me a favor. She is alright, but she is in a deep meditative state." The Oracle saw the deflation.

"Oh . . . how long?"

"I do not know . . . it depends on your sister's descisons."

"We need to find which world Oizys and his group have gone to . . . and Apate's captured a Zamballan, we need to find him as well." Will hesitated. "And we could use some down time, not powered up."

"I will look . . . and you should be able to power down here, guardians. The coins will hold their illusion. So please, rest. Halinor, if you could bring them food." Halinor smiled and nodded.

"Of course." As the Oracle exited the chamber, he closed his eyes. Lying to them, even in half-truths, hurt. _It's for the better good. _But the words of that mantra fell empty . . . Things were moving fast, and he couldn't do anything more to aide, or risk the scales tipping against the guardians and their friends.

But already an unforeseen development was occurring . . . and one of the possible futures that could come from it was impossible to see.

**FYI, if you google the names, Nyx, Morpheus, Oizys, Lyssa, Apate, Moros, Noros, and Aite, you should have a clearer idea of what they're capable of, as well as their personalities in some cases. (especially in Noros' case.)**

**(Aite is normally supposed to be spelled Ate with two dots over the 'e'. I'm using the alternate spelling provided for her name, because I can't get those two dots to stick and honestly, 'Aite' looks cooler than 'Ate'.)**


	18. End of Hunting

**End of Hunting**

Ms. Eppson frowned as she read the page she just typed. Things were just not going her way today . . . though they would probably look up. She had the plan for the last two, and then she was off this horrid world. Ironically, the fire guardian's own double had given her the idea to capture the boy.

"Hey, you busy?" She blinked and glanced up at Sylla.

"That depends . . . are you here professionally or to provide a break? If it's the former, you're going to have to come back when this report on Uriah's recent behavior is finished."

"What did he do?"

"Well, he shoved one of the smaller kids in a locker, painted over a statue in art class that was supposed to be a model, and managed to convince his two pals to help rig up a door so that honey and feathers would stick to the first person that came through . . . that ended up to be Knickerbocker." She sighed. "And that was before second period." She shifted back. "I've dealt with difficult students before, but Uriah . . ." She shook her head. "His parents are being called in, and I have to get this report done so they can read it."

"I'm sorry . . . I was going to ask if you'd like to have dinner with me, say Saturday?"

"Is it alright if I think it over?" She glanced up. "I'll give you an answer tomorrow, I'm just . . ." She gestured at the computer and the stack of files on her desk. "The previous guidance counselor didn't believe in using a computer to store files, apparently."

"It's alright." He smiled. "Here's my number, just in case I can't see you tomorrow." He handed her a slip of paper. She took it, then grabbed a post it note.

"Here's mine . . . so you can remind me if I forget." She smiled as she watched him leave. She glanced down at the piece of paper and the smile turned into a cowl. She moved to drop it into the trachcan, which sat next to her purse. She released it, and calmly returned back to the report.

She had spent years here, so she wasn't sure why she was suddenly unable to stand the place . . . but this afternoon was going to be the last of it, hopefully.

Apate missed that the slip of paper landed in her purse, instead of the trash.

* * *

Peter walked to the beach alone. Cassidy had gone home, she wanted to check on her 'grandmother', so he decided to head to the beach to think. He was graduating soon, and he wanted to have some idea of whether or not he would still be with Cassidy when he went off to college. He'd like to, but he was well aware of the odds that they might not.

Apate hid in Shell cave, and almost jumped as soon as she realized she wasn't alone. "My lord, what are you doing here?"

"You did wish for assistance with this one." Nyx reminded her. "And I've gotten rather bored, so I'd thought I'd try Astral projection and help you . . . shall we?" She straightened, and calmly shapeshifted into Taranee's form. Nyx smiled. Apate could not tell, but the young man she had picked had a large amount of magic, though he was unaware of it. Nyx had an additional plan, for this one.

"Peter!" Peter got a start when his 'sister' ran up to him. She looked scared.

"Sis, what's wrong?"

"There was this guy, and he was following me . . ." 'Taranee' gripped his arm, hard. He hugged her. "I hid in the cave and he left . . . but I'm scared!"

"Hey, I'll protect you, that's what big brothers are for." She looked up, still worried, but obviously comforted. "Let's go . . . where's your bag? In Shell Cave?"

"Uh-huh." She nodded.

"Alright, let's get it and we can go home." He tugged her forward. "Where'd you put it?"

"I don't know . . . I kinda dropped it when I saw you." 'Taranee' glanced around. "Here it is!" She pulled her backpack on, and then picked up a funny looking book. Then she hesitated, glancing out of the cave.

"Tara? Something wrong?"

"You'd do anything to protect me right?"

* * *

Cassidy froze as she was overcome with a cold feeling. "Peter."

"Cassidy, dear, what's wrong?" Her mother's blind gaze focused on the area where she was.

"Something is happening to Peter . . . I've got to go." Cassidy put the book down. "Call Kadma and Yannie if I'm not back in an hour."

"Be careful dear." Emily pulled a timer over.

"I will mom." Cassidy kissed her on the check. Then she was out the door and on her bike.

* * *

"Of course I would, you're my sister. I'd do anything to protect the ones I love." With a wry smile, she held out the book.

"Swear?" He laughed, and put his left hand on the book and raised his right hand, as if he was in court. They'd jokingly done this the other day, when she made him promise to get home before curfew and tell her how his date with Cassidy went.

* * *

Cassidy swore to herself as her bike's tire gave out. She practically threw it into a nearby bike rack and started running on foot towards Shell beach. She wasn't too far now, and maybe she could get to Peter before the feeling came true . . .

* * *

"I, Peter Cook, swear that I would do anything and give anything to protect my little sister, my girlfriend and everyone else I love, up to and including my body and soul." He smiled, because he meant every word, then the book heated up. He couldn't jerk his hand away and to his shock his sister let go of the book, turning into a woman that he didn't recognize.

"And we'll take you up on that, Peter Cook." A man was behind him and grabbed his hand as the book turned into a dagger. His left arm and side suddenly hurt as the cave began to spin around him.

"Peter!" He thought he could hear Cassidy shouting his name, and then everything faded to black.

Cassidy stood there in shock, Peter was on the ground and there were two people standing over him that were clearly not friendly. "Get away from him!" She reached one had out towards the waves nearby. It took a lot more power than she thought it would, but she managed to get a stream of salt water from the ocean to slam into them. "Peter!" The woman recovered and slammed into her, there was no form to the catfight that followed, but eventually Cassidy was slammed into the ground, hard. "Oomph!" The air was knocked out of her lungs and the next thing she knew, she was being dragged through a fold.

"So, this is his girlfriend?" The man looked down at her. Cassidy blinked a couple times, before vaguely recognizing him. Slightly younger face and neater beard, but it was . . .

"Julian? Why are you doing this?" She struggled up.

"Julian? Oh, you mean this body." The man smiled. "I think we have to talk . . . first let me deal with Peter Cook. Apate, take her to a cell and keep her company for a bit."

Cassidy struggled as Apate pulled her away from the still unconscious Peter.

"Relax, he wants him alive."

"If by 'alive' you mean a _thrall_, then you've got issues." Cassidy hissed, before she was flung into a stone niche. Red lighting formed a grate in front of her. "Because that is not what I'd call a life!"

"Oh, shut up." Apate leaned against the opposite wall. "The boy won't even remember his past life to miss it, and he _did_ give us permission."

"You tricked him into giving it!" Cassidy clenched her fists.

"So? He still _meant it._ And that's all it takes." Cassidy glared at her. "You might want to take it easy_, Cassie_, you used up a good chunk of your life force to try and rescue him."

"Why?"

"He's the brother to one of the guardians. Why not?" Apate raised an eyebrow. "Two of them are only children and the other two have siblings that are too young to be of any use." Apate's lips twitched into a humorless smile. "Besides, you'll soon be joining him."

"Now, now, Apate, don't spoil the surprise." Nyx entered, and behind him . . .

"Peter!" Cassidy shouted, almost grabbing onto the lightning bars. He wore a dark tunic and pants, and had a hood that covered his head, but had light blue as lining, his dreads were out of the ponytail he usually kept them in and his eyes were a light blue color instead of their usual dark brown. "Peter?" There was a pole strapped to his back.

"Actually, his name is Charon . . . my latest creation. Apate, if you would take him . . . I'd like to talk with this charming girl alone." Apate nodded and grabbed Charon's arm, pulling him back the way he came.

_Definitely not Julian. Julian's nice, this guy is arrogant with a capital 'A'._ Cassidy blinked in surprise as the red lighting that had been the bars wrapped around her and pulled her to stand in front of the man. "This 'charming girl' is named Cassidy, and doesn't like talking to jerks that feel the need to turn ordinary people into thralls." He smiled at her, amused. Cassidy was forced to follow him. _What the heck have I gotten myself into? All that needs to happen now, is for Nerissa to show up._

"I wouldn't call put it that way, they're my children, and much more important to me than powerless thralls. I also wouldn't say Charon is an ordinary person . . . he has quite a lot of magic. But I can tell you never even sensed it." The girl was like an open book. "But that's not who I want to talk about." He picked up a familiar jewel. "I'd like to discuss this lovely lady."

_Speak of the devil._ " . . . If I give you information, what will you give me?" _And maybe I can find out what he's after . . . Nerissa and Kadma were better at getting people to talk to them than I was._

"What would you like? Your boyfriend?" Nyx smirked as Cassidy glared. "I wonder if he'll always put his sister before his girlfriend?"

"You shouldn't talk about things you don't understand, makes you look like an idiot." Cassidy had half a mind to use her guardian powers, consequences be damned. "And I'm no fool, no matter what I get you to promise, I know you'll create a loophole for yourself." _Though I hope he doesn't hit on the same chink that Nerissa did. _

"Then you should know you are not in a situation to debate. Apate's been on Earth for several years, she knows where to find each of your friends and family. I give the word, she can start killing. She's very good at deception, a hit and run here, an aneurism there . . . you wouldn't be able to stop it and no one would be able to stop her. We've already replaced several others with dopplegangers, you won't even be missed." Cassidy's sharp intake of breath made him smile. "Anything to say?"

"You . . ." There was half a dozen curses (several from other worlds) that Cassidy would have loved to say out loud. She couldn't even deny that he was bluffing, thanks to her new empathy. He meant every single word. The guardians didn't know she was in trouble, and Yan Lin had said that not even the Oracle could see this world.

She didn't have anywhere to go, plus using her powers on the same scale as when she was a guardian could kill her, and as a selfish as it sounded, she didn't want to die again . . . Yan Lin, Kadma, Halinor and her mother . . . she couldn't put them through that pain again. And the only way to do that would be to play along. If she was lucky, Irma would be able to wake her up omce more. "You win this round." _But the guardians and the others will make sure you lose the war._

"Good, then perhaps you could start cooperating . . . unless you need proof?"

"No, thank you." Cassidy glanced at the jewel. "Her name's Nerissa."

"Friend of yours?"

"Once. A long time ago."

* * *

Apate crossed her arms as she waited in the throne room Whatever Nyx was talking about or doing was taking a long time. She wanted to make the two dopplegangers, drop them off, and then move on to the next part of her creator's plan. A strange groaning sound echoed from another part of the ruin and she straightened. Charon looked up from where he had been leaning as well. A similar sound to the first, but louder made her go on edge.

"There's nothing to worry about, that way." Nyx moved to his throne. "It's just the creation made from that Zamballan you brought." Behind him, was the girl who had been Cassidy. She retained her guardian uniform, though her skirt and fore arm guards had turned black, her top turned to even a darker blue and her wings had become more black and blue as well, losing the slight yellow tint. The tights she normally wore had changed from the green and blue to become a solid dark blue, the same shade as her top. "Charon, you'll be working with Siren here. Go and practice your skills." The two bowed and left and Apate quickly conjured up two dopplegangers. "Apate-"

"I'll drop these off and return."

"No. I need you to stay on Earth." Nyx frowned as Apate whirled and glared at him. He didn't recall giving her this much free will when he created her, or aggression. "I need you to watch the Sentinels and Guardians to see whether or not they've returned . . . or what their plans are. I also need you to keep an eye on any magical beings in Heatherfield that work with the guardians."

"You said that after these two I could return here!" Apate's eyes flashed. Then she cried out as Nyx blasted her to the ground.

"You have no right to question me, Apate. Remember that, the next time you feel like behaving as a child."

"I will." Outwardly, Apate appeared cowed, but on the inside, she was seething. She stayed angry as she returned the dopplegangers to Earth, and then headed to her apartment. Once she was locked inside, with an illusion of silence so no one outside could hear, she let her rage boil over. A cheap glass vase was slammed against the wall and she let out a long howling scream. She doubled over as an aching pain flared in her body. Everything hurt for no reason at all, and all she wanted to do was curl up and fade.

* * *

Emily didn't know why, but when her daughter returned, she felt more on edge. It was little things, like her daughter not knowing what happened to her bike, the curious tone when she asked why her mother was holding the timer, set to go off in another ten minutes. Her daughter's hands were cold, not warm like usual and they felt brittle, not her daughters firm but gentle grip at all. Dinner was a silent affair, and Emily didn't call Cassidy out on any of it.

It was after Cassidy went up to bed- after giving her a hug goodnight- that Emily reached for the phone. Cassidy always gave her a kiss on the cheek along with the hug. Not to mention that Cassidy, who usually smelled like saltwater and chlorine, smelled like clay. Had it been a forty years ago, Emily wouldn't have noticed . . . she wasn't blind then and would've chalked it up to her daughter's wishy-washy nature. Now, things were very different.

"Yan Lin? It's Emily, Cassidy's mother." Emily hesitated turning her head towards the stairs. "There's something wrong with Cassidy . . . could you come over and take a look? Oh, not now, tomorrow afternoon." Emily smiled. "Thank you Yannie, I'd appreciate that."

* * *

"What was that?" Kadma had come over to the Silver Dragon, Yan Lin had told her son that she was having an old ladies slumber party, it just consisted of herself, Mira and Kadma. Which was true, she just left out that it would also include a planning session of what they should do if Nerissa woke up.

"Emily thinks there's something wrong with Cassidy . . . magic wise." Yan Lin sighed. Mira Lin calmly looked up from the tea kettle. "I have to admit, I think a rather violent storm is coming in, but whether or not it blows over quickly is beyond me."

"Then let's hope there's a break so the guardians can stay strong."

"You two and your mystic mumbo jumbo." Kadma sighed. "Would it kill you to just say 'danger is coming, we should duck and cover'?"

"You still lack patience." Yan Lin smiled.

"That's why you can't cook." Mira added, gaining a dark look from Yan Lin.

"Let's not start that again!" Kadma grumbled as she sipped her tea. "You all never let me live that down."

"It clearly said pinch, not package!"

"If you could read Chinese!" Kadma huffed.

"It had the translation at the bottom." Mira Lin watched in amusement as the two bickered. She also had memories of the incident, but she didn't chime in.

"I only made that mistake once."

"Kadma, face it, cooking has never been your thing. At least you've moved past the 'burn a salad' phase."

"_That_ was Halinor's fault, not mine."

"Halinor wasn't there the _second_ time." Kadma closed her mouth in a mulish line, clearly, not about to admit it. "I'm still not sure how you did it. Nerissa and Cassidy had to get a fire extinguisher and douse the place with water, respectively."

"Well, at least I can dance, you still dance like a chicken!"

"Don't change the subject!" But by this time, they were both smiling.

"We should've invited Halinor and Cassidy." Mira put her cup down.

"Yes, because Cassidy needs to be scarred for life after hearing how frank we've gotten with age." Kadma sipped her tea. "It wouldn't be the same."

"We knew that when Nerissa started to act strange." The good mood from before started to dampen. "Though at the time, we thought she wouldn't go so far as to hurt Cassidy."

"That was the whole point of giving the heart to Cassidy, She and Nerissa had been joined at the hip since kindergarten . . . Nerissa wasn't supposed to be able to hurt her." Kadma sighed. "Took me two decades to figure out the Oracle's reasoning behind that choice." Yan Lin nodded, "I would love to give Nerissa a piece of my mind. I didn't get a chance to, when we were in the heart . . . Elyon got to her first, and then we were all trying to work together."

"Perhaps it's for the best that you didn't." Mira moved the tray of cookies closer. Yan Lin smiled at her 'twin's' obvious distraction.

"Perhaps. That reminds me, it's for the best you don't even try to make tea tomorrow morning."

"Yan Lin, contrary to what you think, I _can_ boil water."

**Disclaimer: Don't own WITCH!**


	19. Downwards Spiral Pt 1

**Disclaimer: Don't own W.I.T.C.H.**

**Downward Spiral Part 1**

"You know, using those clone coins is a heck of a lot better than astral drops, at least these don't mess up on things and our social life." Irma mused, "I mean, we can't turn back to normal anywhere else, unless it's Candracar, but that's not too bad." Irma had convinced Nigel to use the heart of Arcgen to scry and see how their doubles were doing. (Will had shaken her head and had gone over to Matt.)

"Speak for yourself, the rest of you don't look like the sphinx's cousin." Matt pointed out from where he and Will were sitting together.

"Guardians, the creatures are attacking Nimbus(1) You need to go there and protect that world's heart."

"Whoa, wait a minute, Will can't go there! After what happened with that Salamander!" Cornelia's objection made them all look at her.

"Cornelia, we smoothed things over, remember? It's not that dangerous for me."

"Okay, I'm lost." Nigel looked at Matt and Caleb, both of them holding up their hands.

"Don't look at me, I'm just as lost as you on this one." Matt glanced at Will.

"It's a long story, and it won't be a repeat of last time. We've got to help them anyway."

"Fine, but you can't say I didn't warn you." Cornelia huffed.

"Guardians, Unite!"

"Sentinels, Awake!"

"You know, at some point I need to talk with my fellow regents about having a call or something." Matt muttered, before he powered up as well. In a moment, the group was through the fold.

"Wow . . . this isn't good . . ." Within a moment of being there, they had already gotten soaked to the skin.

"We should have gotten the weather forecast before we came." Martin noted the lightning. "Hey, wait, the lighting is the same shade of Will's hair." Red lightning crackled against the sky. It was also the same shade as Oizys' lightning, but no one voiced that thought.

"Yeah, we know." Cornelia crossed her arms.

"Okay, what's wrong?" Caleb looked at his girlfriend. Martin ignored the topic shift to form a shield in the shape of an umbrella. Taranee held out a hand and dried him off before working on the others.

"Cliffnotes, one of the salamanders stole the heart from Will. He gave it back, but needless to say, Cornelia hasn't forgiven him." Irma explained.

"Wait, I thought hearts could only be given with permission?" Matt looked at Will.

"And you're right. Both Will and Halidan suffered when he stole the heart." Taranee dried out Matt's wings.

"Hey, Danny's a nice person. It was just a . . . okay, it wasn't . . . I'm just going to stop talking." Will sighed.

"Out of curiosity, am I allowed to blast this guy?" Matt tilted his head.

"If he goes for the heart again, by all means." Cornelia flipped her hair, almost hitting Eric with it.

"Right, well, let's see if we can find Mr. Cuddlefleece." The girls started moving.

"'Cuddlefleece'?" The males of the group stopped and looked at each other.

"Hello, Kadma, Yan Lin."

"Hello, Mrs. Emily-"

"Oh, Kadma, you don't have to call me that anymore." The elderly blind woman smiled. "Come in." The three were just setting down when 'Cassidy' slid into the kitchen. "Cassidy, your friends-"

"Are waiting at the skate park! I know, I know!" 'Cassidy' glanced up. "I didn't know your garden club met today- ah, rollerblades!" She grabbed a pair by the door. "See you later mom!" Then she was out the door.

"That . . ." Kadma gripped her cup. "That wasn't Cassidy."

"We better go to the oracle." Yan Lin paused, and gently gripped Emily's trembling hand. "We will find her. You said that Peter was in danger and Cassidy went to his aid?"

"Yes."

"Then it is more than likely that they're together and working to get back to us. Don't worry, we will get her back."

"I trust you, just please, bring my daughter back." Emily's hand went to her locket.

"I'll get the remaining two Regents of Earth." Kadma stood. "I'll meet you at the Silver Dragon."

"I'll get Mira . . . Huggles mentioned that there were several 'not' children, that weren't the dopplegangers created by the coins. He can explain more, I'm sure." Yan Lin stood as well. "Emily . . . try not to act too different around the other Cassidy. She may still feel like your daughter, and if you push her away there's no telling how the copy will react, alright?"

"I'll try, dears."

"I'll get Huggles and take him by the school, he might be able to tell who else is a doppelganger, like Cassidy."

It was easy enough to get Huggles, The dormouse had raced to Kadma the instant he'd seen her, but getting Napoleon was a little more difficult.

Needless to say, the call by one of the Tenants about a gorilla climbing the building did not amuse the police and the zoo keepers when they couldn't find it.

"We need a better way of doing this." Napoleon muttered from where he was in the large purse Kadma had brought. Huggles squeaked agreement.

"I'll keep that in mind." Kadma gave a wry smile at her purse.

"Oizys is right ahead!"

"You sure?" Will glanced at Nigel. His comment had come from out of no where, but the team could see more red lightning ahead.

"Yeah, him and the rest of his group are busy with something really big."

"They must be attacking a salamander."

"Out of curiosity, why aren't you all flying?" Caleb looked at everyone else.

"And get struck by lightning? I'll stick to running." Irma gave him a look.

"I do not want to be fried chicken." Matt added. "The only problem with using those coins is that outside of Candracar, I can't power down." At that moment, they reached the top of one of the hills and got a good look at what remained of the town.

"Oh, God . . ." Cornelia covered her mouth, a broken and overturned cart covered all but the arm of an unlucky Nimbus resident.

"Long way from God." Martin's shield suddenly vanished and the group glanced back to see him blocking Noros.

"Split!" Irma and Hay Lin took to the air, combining their powers to freeze Noros in a block of ice. Or tried to. He turned into a black mist and escaped it. Martin's light shield was the only thing that blocked him, apparently.

"Aite!" Cornelia and Caleb dodged exploding debris. Vines shot up from the ground as Caleb used his sword and shield to block debris from hitting her. Will and Nigel chased after Oizys and the salamander he was battling.

"Something's wrong." Matt glanced at Eric while the two worked to save survivors- Taranee was busy putting out fires, which burned even as the rain began to pick up. Eric met his gaze and explained further, "There's only three of them; Where's Lyssa, Moros and Morpheus?"

" . . ." Matt lifted a wall that had fallen on the legs of one of the inhabitants of nimbus- apparently, they were humanoid sheep or rams, which explained the name. "Well, if they're not here, where else could they be?"

The answer was simple. Meridian.

"Gargoyle, Sandpit, take out the giant!" Raythor shouted, dodging a blow from Lyssa. Lyssa reformed, right before dodging Tynar. A blinding and dazzling light sent both Lyssa and Moros out of the city as Elyon joined the battle.

"Your Majesty, behind you!" Elias shouted a warning, but it was a moment too late. Morpheus grabbed Elyon. Elyon tried to blast him, but suddenly felt exhausted.

"I can't kill you or take you, but I can make sure you can't interfere." Were the last words she heard, right before she fell unconscious. Morpheus let her go and Drake caught her before she hit the ground.

"Queen Elyon?" She wasn't hurt, and she was breathing just fine. "Damnit." Elias came up behind him. "The Queen's been knocked out! We need to get her out here!" Elias nodded.

He had been the first to find out what Elyon had meant when she said their personal talents would be enhanced. If he focused, anything he painted with his magic would become real. In just a moment, he had painted a horseless carriage- er, car- that he remembered from earth (and that he had learned to drive while he had lived there) Drake looked confused but didn't ask as the two quickly got their queen out of the battle field. Raythor moved to challenge Morpheus as Aldarn raced up to help Tynar.

"Why are you attacking us?" Aldarn dodged as Lyssa swung at him.

"Because my father told me to!"

"You're killing innocent people because your father told you to?" Lyssa paused blinking. Now that he said it like that, it didn't sound quite right. At least the 'killing innocent people' part. But why didn't it sound right?

In the world of eclipse, Nyx smiled as he watch Lyssa take on the two Meridianites. Yes, curiosity was a dangerous thing, especially for Lyssa. Because it would cause her real power to show itself. Charon and Siren looked at him as he started to laugh, not comprehending the reason.

Lyssa couldn't understand why 'killing innocent people' had struck a chord in her. The more she tried to understand, the more it confused her- and the more reality began to escape her.

Aldarn and Tynar weren't prepared for their opponent to scream and clutch her head.

"I don't understand! I don't understand!"

"Killing innoncent people is wrong no matter who tells you to, what's so hard to understand?" Tynar saw the attack before Aldarn did. Without a moment's hesitation, Tynar pushed Aldarn out of the way as Lyssa held out one hand and a sickly red fluid left it. It caught him in the face.

As he fell to the ground, the world turned red and warped into a nightmare.

"Tynar?" The older warrior began thrashing and screaming. "What have you done to him?"

"I wish the world is just as mad and hurt as I am." Lyssa hissed and charged at him. Aldarn dodged, keeping her away from the injured Tynar.

In Nimbus:

The salamander hit the ground, Oizys was unprepared for the attack that came from behind him- purple lighting joined Will's quintessence as Nigel swung the heart of Arcgen in it's sword form.

"Ah, Nigel-?"

"Don't ask, I don't know, either." Nigel glanced at the heart in his hands. Oizys attacked back and the two quickly went on the defensive. Several thunderclaps heralded the arrival of even stronger rain.

"This could be better." Nigel glanced at the unconscious form of the salamander and gave a grunt of agreement.

**To be continued . . . **

**(1) From _When Lighting Strikes_ Will's Story.**


	20. Downwards Spiral Pt 2

**Long Time no post- but I had 20 credit hours of college this semester, and they all insisted on research papers _and_ end of year presentations. I deemed it more prudent to work on school. But now it's over and it's summer time!**

**Downward Spiral Part 2**

Martin choked on the rain as he tried to take a breath. The storm had gotten worse and they might as well have been swimming with all the rain pouring down. Noros kept coming after him, and it only took him a minute to realize that he was at an elemental disadvantage.

If you discounted the lightning, there was no light strong enough for him to get strength from.

His shield was starting to weaken, too. The only good thing about the rain was that it was hindering Noros as well- he couldn't go into mist form with all the water pouring down.

Martin's leg got caught in a broken wagon wheel and he fell. The torrent of rain suddenly increased as Irma blasted Noros away with water.

"Martin, you okay?" Irma had to shout to be heard over the rain and thunder, she grabbed onto his arm to try and keep him from sinking any further into the mud. Martin debated about lying, before shaking his head.

"No, I'm not." He glanced at his leg and winced. He had come very close to having a wooden spike through his calf-muscle. Mentally, he wondered why he was the most accident prone of the guardians, first he got blasted by Oizys, now he almost got crippled in a fight with Noros. A very loud thunderclap heralded more rain.

"I think we better call this on account of the weather!" Irma made a face and quickly formed a dome of water over them to keep out the rain. Thankfully, it also made it easier to hear as well. "Looks like Noros agrees with me, he's slunk off."

"Where's Hay Lin?" Martin carefully extracted his leg from the wheel.

"She went to help Cornelia and Caleb against Aite, I think, or she went to help Taranee and the rescue team." Irma made a face at the downpour. "We need to find the others."

'_Or you could stay where you are and we'll join you. Oizys and Aite took off- they don't like the rain that much, apparently.'_ Nigel's voice sounded in their heads, and a moment later the rest of the group entered the dome- Will supporting a boy with orange hair and bright blue eyes. "And we found Halidan- the regular residents of nimbus have a storm shelter they could go to." The group, with the exception of Halidan, resembled drowned rats at this point.

"How much longer until this blows over?"

"Not that long." Halidan smiled. "Another five minutes until it begins to slacken, but there's going to be another storm right behind it."

"Uh, aren't you supposed to be eating lightning right now or something?" Hay Lin looked at him.

"Normally, I would . . . but things have been pretty bad lately." Halidan glanced down. "There's a war going on right now. Between Salamanders."

"Why?"

"I don't know." Halidan gave a soft sigh, "I think it started as a territory dispute- those happen every so often, especially between younger and older Salamanders, but it's gotten out of hand. I've tried to keep my territory safe and neutral in all this, but I can't do much with the entire world out of whack."

"Danny, do you know where this world's heart is?" Will looked at Halidan.

" . . . Heart? What do you mean?"

"Each world has a heart- I have candracar's heart, he has the heart of another world called Arcgen." Will explained. "The heart can be anything, even a person."

"Oh." Halidan adopted a thoughtful expression. "There's an old story about how the Salamanders had a Rod that ruled them- Rod being similar to king- and that was the most powerful Salamander. But that story is as old as the ruins it's attached to."

"Well, then let's try this." Will held up the Heart of Candracar. "Heart, show me where the Heart of Nimbus is!" Scenes of places and people flashed in the air above the heart, before it settled on a broken tower. "Danny, do you know where this is?"

"Yeah, it's the ruins I just mentioned. They're about a half day's flight from here." He glanced up at the sky outside Irma's water dome. "I think I could take you there quicker than that- and you'd be safer with me around- lightning won't strike me unless I want it to."

* * *

In Meridian:

Aldarn swore under his breath as he realized his error- in his haste to keep Lyssa distracted from Tynar, he'd led her too far from the city. Reinforcements would have a hard time finding them.

"I hate you!"

"You don't even know me!" Aldarn dodged another spray of the madness-inducing liquid. "Besides, you're the one who started attacking me!" Aldarn tried to cut her, but once more she formed into liquid to escape.

* * *

"Tynar!" Raythor grabbed the thrashing Merdianite. "What's the matter with you?" Raythor was soon having to defend himself against his own ally. "Tynar! Stop this! I'm not your enemy!" Tynar didn't listen. "Look mate, I don't want to hurt you," Raythor was sent skidding back as Tynar slammed into him, "but you're making it hard for me to not." Raythor grit his teeth.

Gargoyle and Sandpit had no problem dealing with Moros and Morpheus. Gargoyle especially, since Elyon fixed his magic. He and Moros were easily trading blows, neither about to grow tired of it anytime soon.

Morpheus couldn't make Sandpit fall asleep, as the living sand lacked that capability. At the same time, Sandpit couldn't trap Morpheus as the once-human proved to be too fast to be pinned.

* * *

On Earth:

"Cassidy, Peter, Irma's crush- he thinks the name is Andy-, Alchemy, Joel, and Mandy." Napoleon translated Huggles' list. "That's six humans missing, and that's not mentioning the fact that Nigel, Eric and Martin have the same dopplegangers as the girls and Matt."

"This is a problem." Kadma leaned back, absently petting Huggles.

"A very big one." Yan Lin agreed, picking up Napoleon. "Let's go to Candracar."

* * *

Apate, once again appearing as Dea Eppson, managed to drag herself out of her apartment to the school, but had already begun regretting the effort. Her body ached and no matter what she did, it wouldn't go away. When she found herself reading the same paragraph for the third time she groaned and let her head drop onto her arms. She felt like someone was stabbing her over and over. "I am not going to get any work done at this rate." With a heavy sigh, she began rummaging through her purse, hoping to find some sort of distraction- or even some headache medicine. "Huh?" What she found was the piece of paper with Sylla's number on it. She scowled, her wrist already moving to throw the piece of paper away when she paused, fingers tightening on the slip of paper.

She was trapped on earth for the foreseeable future, and in the years she spent on earth she hadn't really had any sort of 'fun' (in Earth's terms that is) because her mission from Nyx had been her only goal. The scowl melted into a thoughtful frown as she recalled the previous 'date' the two had shared. It wasn't like she had anything else to do, the dopplegangers were doing their job, so what would the point be for her to sit around waiting for nothing to happen?

There wasn't one.

Before she had a chance to reconsider, she typed Sylla's number into her phone and left a voice message accepting the date.

* * *

On Nimbus:

The ruins were rather impressive- and probably would have been more so if there hadn't been a monsoon going on. Riding on Halidan's back while he was in Salamander form had proven to be an enlightening experience- namely, Cornelia did not look good with an afro, and yes, it was possible to make Irma shut up. Will and Nigel were the only two that didn't have any problems with the resulting static.

Once Haldian had landed (and helped Cornelia with her static-hair problem, earning him a few points towards her forgiveness) he had to take off again. The lighting in the area had increased and in order to make it safe for the groups to search, he would have to eat the lightning.

"Alright, Heart of Candracar, show me where the Heart of Nimbus is." Will held the glass orb and watched as images began to flash through it. Nigel called on the Heart of Arcgen to do the same.

As the two scryed, the rest searched for the heart the old fashioned way- searching the tower. Caleb and Martin teamed up to search a dark corridor, Cornelia, Irma and Taranee (who tagged along to make sure the two didn't kill each other) went in another direction, and Matt and Hay Lin flew to the top of the tower.

No one had noticed Eric had been left to search on his own. Searching the first level, he froze as he saw the shadows begin to move.

But for some reason, it didn't scare him as much as it once would have. Absently adjusting the visor over his eyes, he then held out his hands, the shadows quickly curling around them as if they were curious.

"I'm looking for something that's been lost for a long time- the Heart of Nimbus." The shadows pulled back from him, suddenly defensive. "Not for myself, but to keep it from harm. Won't you help me?" For an answer the shadows pulled back- but not because they were refusing his request. The room seemed to explode with darkness.

* * *

In Eclipse:

Nyx had stopped watching his children's battles, a new idea beginning to grow in his mind. He calmly studied the jewel containing Nerissa- a lovely name for a lovely creature, but it was unfortunate that she would double cross him if he let her out. Her ambition made her deadly, and he highly doubted that she would take too kindly to him inhabiting her old lover's body.

However, he did want a queen- ruling worlds was pointless if one could not enjoy it, and it would be dull beyond belief if he did not have something to amuse him. His destruction of the inhabitants of Arcgen had sealed that belief- years had been spent in a practical ghost town, unable to gain the heart, but even more unable to enjoy the victory over its people. A ghost of a smile came to his lips.

Well, if she was a free spirit, he wouldn't bother taming her. All he really wanted was her body and her magic, anyway. Standing up he ignored Charon and Siren who had both moved to follow him, but halted as he disappeared through doors they were forbidden to enter. Charon shrugged, and turned to walk away, before glancing back at Siren, who seemed focused on the doors.

"Questioning Lord Nyx?"

"Nay . . ." For an instant, Siren appeared conflicted, before turning away from the doors, her face blank once more. Once again Charon shrugged, uncaring about his partner's mood swing. His blue eyes flickered to the door as it suddenly opened once more, Nyx looking at the two of them. "My Lord?" Siren stepped towards him.

"Charon, I shall need your help with this, come." Charon obeyed, and a moment later they left Siren alone.

The former water guardian scowled, not pleased with the abandonment, but once again that emotion was gone before it could take root in her mind.

* * *

In Nimbus:

Eric watched in silence as shadows- in the forms of various creatures, formed from the darkness. Gradually, he realized it was a story he was watching, and he watched intently as the figures moved about each other. One large shadow, clearly the most important one, eventually began to walk away from the rest. Eric followed it in silence, and gradually the shadow began to become more defined- but like a negative of a photograph.

It looked like one of the ram-like inhabitants of Nimbus, but the way the shadow flickered made him realize that it was just a salamander in a solid form. It carried something like a scepter in its hands.

_The 'Rod' of Nimbus . . . _Eric followed it as now the back ground began to form, once again like a negative image. They entered a chamber where the Rod sat down in a throne, staring at the scepter in its hands.

There was something incredibly sad in that picture, and Eric tried to move forward.

"_There are none who can take my place, none that are worthy enough to be called the next Rod._" Eric froze as he listened to the voice of the Rod, it was full of despair and sorrow. "_I must hide the power, until it is once again needed._" The sound faded out and Eric strained to hear, but the Rod once again stood, and turned into something that must have been energy, and vanished- scepter and all- through a space by the throne. The negative image warped, and suddenly the darkness vanished, revealing the exact same throne room that he had followed the Rod of the past to. Water lapped against his foot, and he saw Halidan land- half of one wall had been destroyed, leaving the room open to the elements. Halidan spotted him and entered the building.

"Hey, any luck? There's not going to be a lighting storm for another few minutes, so I thought I'd land and check on you guys. I think Will and Nigel are talking to the guy with black wings." Halidan was surprised to see Eric give a small smile. "What I'd say?"

"I'll tell you in a minute, can all salamanders turn into pure energy?"

"No. I can, and so can a few others that are pretty powerful, but not all of them. It's how I was able to travel to your world. Why?"

"I need you to help me explore something. Can you follow a shadow while you're in energy form?" Halidan tilted his head, confused, but nodded. "Good, c'mon." Eric went to the area where he had seen the Rod vanish, and found a crack on the ground that could have been mistaken for a space between the stone tiles. Turning into a shadow, he was relieved to find that he could fit through the crack with ease- and he felt the crackle of energy, signaling that Halidan was right behind him.

* * *

In the infinite universe, no world ever has the exact same time zone as another. For this reason, crossing worlds can be likened to traveling to another time zone or country on earth. However, time zones on earth are stable and constant, only twice a year does the time change, either gaining or losing an hour.

Such a change does also occur for the worlds of the infinite universe- but slightly more chaotic and in some ways more dangerous. Every so often, either because of a world dying or another world being born, the time-changes between worlds change drastically- one world's time will go faster, one other world would be unaffected, another would slow, and yet another's could freeze- which causes havoc on crossing between worlds, and you could end up finding that years had passed on your original world and your friends were no longer in existence (the traveler to whom this had happened to was actually the person who took the tooth from the Tonga, but that is a story for another time).

This change is rarely noticed but by a few on any world at any given time- on Earth, when one complains of time going by slowly, or it's seeming speed, that one person may actually be feeling the effect of the change.

At the time that Eric and Halidan had begun to slip through the crack, the change was once more occurring.

Earth's time- unnoticed by those on the world- sped up, not by much, but enough.

In Eclipse, time slowed- Eclipse had been in a faster time than Earth, and this change simply brought the world of Eclipse closer to sharing a time span with Earth.

In Meridian, time froze for a short period before resuming.

In Candracar, the fortress in the center of infinity felt the change as a strong gust of wind. Yan Lin, Kadma, and the two regents experienced a rather turbulent entry to Candracar, and as a result the four felt as if they had come off one of the whirling rides at a carnival. Both Yan Lin and Kadma were promptly given rooms to sleep off the effects.

* * *

The Oracle closed himself off in his meditation chamber, and felt the changes that had occurred throughout the universe, before bringing his thoughts to the situation that faced his guardians and their allies. The changes of time had happened, and he could see that the heartache and pain he had foreseen was right at the door. Opening his eyes, he stared at the reflective pond.

He had to do what was right for the greater good of the universe, he could not interfere directly and he had no doubt that the guardians and their allies would all be upset at his silence. They would feel betrayed, and he could only offer explanations that they wouldn't accept easily.

"The last time I saw that look on your face, I had just been appointed the keeper of the aurameres and you had experienced your first inter-worlds crisis." Luba had her arms crossed and was studying him. "I would like to remind you that the council of Candracar, especially Tibor and myself, are here so you can talk to us."

"You know me too well, old friend." The Oracle smiled at the cat-like woman. "Why have you left your post?"

"A possibility that has been growing in my mind- I must admit that I have been thinking about it for awhile . . ." The Oracle picked up her train of thought in a moment, and he closed his eyes. "If it's possible-"

"No, Luba. I have seen nothing of this possibility."

"Oh?" Luba raised an eyebrow. The oracle looked at her, and sighed. "That's what I thought. It _is_ possible, then."

"I will discuss it with you when it becomes a _probability_, Luba." He closed his eyes once more.

"As you wish. I must be getting back to my post." Luba turned to walk away. "Oracle?"

"Yes?" He didn't have to open the eyes to see the smile.

"You might be underestimating the Guardians' maturity." Then she was gone, leaving the Oracle to his thoughts- whatever they were.

**Phew . . . I think I got this written in about two hours. **

**Next up: Why should I spoil it? You'll just have to wait and see ;). **


	21. Clash of Interest, Part 1

**This is just a reminder for those who might be confused and would prefer not looking up which character is which:**

**Lyssa = Mandy Noros = Joel Morpheus = Andrew Aite = Alchemy**

**Charon = Peter Siren = Cassidy**

**Apate is going to be used interchangeably with 'Dea Eppson' which is her alter ego. (And a hint to the ones who haven't noticed: try saying 'Dea Eppson' out-loud multiple times :} )**

**Clash of Interest, Part One**

* * *

On Earth:

"Hey, you look nice." Sylla held open the passenger side door for her. Apate blushed, adjusting the strap of her purse.

"Thanks, so do you." For one moment, she debated changing her mind (like she had been doing ever since she had initially accepted the date) before shoving it to the side. She could afford to have one night to herself, after all, since her creator refused to take her back.

Neither noticed they were being followed.

* * *

On Meridian:

Lyssa and Aldarn ended up falling down a short incline- one of several leading to a small lake. Lyssa had stopped spraying the liquid that had affected Tynar. The two combatants glared at each other.

"Why are you attacking us? What does your 'father' want?"

"Shut up!" Lyssa, either because of her madness or because she had just forgotten, tackled Aldarn without forming into liquid or trying to splash him. Aldran hadn't been prepared for such a move, and his sword was knocked out of his grip as they fell.

Blunk, who had been busy with his usual trade of items and junk, had been fairly ignorant of the goings on of the worlds after taking Caleb to earth and then returning Sandpit to Meridian. So when he saw Aldarn and something strange tumbling towards him, he did what any passling smuggler would do.

Panic and use the tonga tooth to get the heck out of the way.

Aldarn and Lyssa were so caught up in their wrestling match, they didn't notice the fold, or that they had entered it.

The fold closed, leaving no trace that it had even been there.

Raythor, meanwhile, was having a hard time defending against Tynar. In terms of skill, Raythor was probably the better of the two, but because he was trying to not seriously harm Tynar- who currently had no such thoughts about Raythor- it gave him a serious handicap. "Tynar, snap out of it!" Raythor grit his teeth as Tynar's sword caught his side. He was getting tired by just defending, and Tynar seemed to have no limit on energy. "Alright, I'm sorry to have to do this . . ." Raythor surged forward, surprising Tynar. "But I'll ask your forgiveness later!"

Gargoyle sent Moros flying back, stunning the troll as it shrank to normal size. Morpheus promptly appeared at Moros' side, quickly vanishing through a dark fold that appeared. Sandpit formed next to Gargoyle, looking up at its friend.

"RRrrr . . ." The two saw Tynar and Raythor fighting, and without a word went over to find out what was wrong.

* * *

On Nimbus:

Eric and Halidan emerged into a chamber, with the scepter from Eric's 'vision' on a pedestal in the center.

"So, now what?"

"It's the heart of your world, and right now, I'm pretty sure all the salamanders need someone to rally around." Halidan nodded, and moved forward reaching out.

After the searching, it was almost anti-climatic the way the scepter started to glow red, and shot into Halidan's outstretched hand. 'Almost', because once it was there, red energy started to shoot out and the ground started to shake.

Above them, the rest of the guardians and sentinels had regrouped just as the earth started to shake.

* * *

Mount Thanos:

"Whoops!" Blunk landed in a deep snow bank, the wind quickly depositing even more snow on top of him. A moment later, Aldarn and Lyssa landed in the snow as well, the sudden cold shocking both of them out of their fight.

"What the?" Aldarn blinked. "Where are we?"

"I don't know." Lyssa shivered. Then she started to cry. Several different thoughts were swarming in her head, and the pain they caused was pushing her back into insanity.

Aldarn stared at his opponent for a moment. She'd gone from trying to attack him to sitting in the snow and sobbing. She obviously wasn't stable, and for a moment he softened.

"We're not going to be able to do anything here, we should call a truce until our respective teams find us." Aldarn held out his hand. Lyssa stared at him. "I promise I won't hurt you while it's just the two of us, okay?"

A faint memory flashed in Lyssa's mind, and wordlessly she took his hand. As he pulled her to her feet, the pain and confusion began to fade away. It was a wonderful feeling, the closest thing to bliss that she had felt since coming into existence.

"C'mon, let's find some shelter." Lyssa just meekly shifted to Aldarn's side, gripping onto his shirt like a child. Aldarn blinked at her in confusion, but chose to let it go for now. Wordlessly the two moved off, searching for shelter.

It was just their unfortunate luck that Blunk pulled himself out of the snow bank a moment after they were gone, and used the tooth to fold to earth.

* * *

On Earth:

'Dea' had enjoyed the dinner, and had enjoyed the date. It was something she couldn't quite understand, either, as before the thought alone had made her nauseous. The two had spent most of the time talking about common interests and a few differences that they had. Now they were walking the two blocks back to Sylla's car- parking had been the only hiccup in the progress of the date.

"I can't see how you like dogs, they're either big and drooling, or small and high pitched." Sylla shook his head.

"They're loyal, and not all dogs drool . . . I don't like small dogs, so I'll give you the small and high pitched." 'Dea' smiled, "Now, cats on the other hand, I don't see the appeal- I swear you look at them and you can tell they're trying to figure out the best way to kill you." Sylla laughed at that. "What?"

"So, a cat's tried to kill you?" He was smirking at her.

"Key word tried." She sulked, "I was coming down the stairs and it had been laying on one and it chose the moment I stepped over it to hiss and attack my legs, I almost broke my neck!"

"That was just one time, I'm sure not all cats are out to get you."

"I wouldn't be so sure of that." Both whirled at the sound of a gun's safety being turned off.

* * *

Nimbus:

"What the heck?"

"Look out!" Matt grabbed Caleb before a wall fell on him and quickly hovered above the ground.

"Where's Eric?" Hay Lin was frantic.

"Where's that lizard is what I want to know!" Cornelia glared up at the sky. The lightning had suddenly gotten worse, and none of them could risk flying any higher.

"Cornelia! Can you do anything?" Will pulled Taranee and Martin away from another crumbling wall.

"I can't!" Cornelia dodged a falling stone, before halting the fall of several rocks that had almost hit Nigel and Irma. "It's got to let off this energy! I could make it worse by trying to stop it!"

"Well, we don't want that to happen." Irma quipped.

* * *

Mount Thanos:

They found a cave, and Aldarn quietly led them in. Lyssa seemed to have forgotten the fact they were formerly fighting, and stayed close.

"This should do for now, we'll wait for the storm to stop before trying to find a way out." He sat down, and was unnerved as Lyssa sat next to him, putting her head on his shoulder to look up at him. "What-?"

"I don't have pain . . . things aren't so confusing when I'm touching you." Lyssa blinked. "The only one who's done that before is my father . . . and while I recognize my siblings, they aren't as calming. So why are you different?"

"I don't know." Aldarn absently wrapped his arm around her. There was something eerily familiar about the girl's eyes . . . it was like he'd seen her before. "Have we ever met before?"

"I think so . . ." Lyssa only had faded memories, but they weren't clear and she could hold them for more than a moment. "But I can't . . . I can't remember." Another tear leaked out. "I can't remember anything for very long, except what my father tells me."

* * *

Earth:

"Mr. R? What are you doing?" Sylla looked between the two, but the gun in the older man's hand remained steady.

"Making sure you don't make a mistake- the woman's a witch."

"Excuse me?" Dea blinked, pulling off a confused and offended look.

"I checked your background- found some irregularities."

"Yeah, I don't doubt it." At Sylla's look, she gave a sigh. "Like I said I took the long route. Fell in with a bad crowd in college, dropped out, did drugs, became homeless- Finally was able to turn it around and get back on track, but still not the easiest thing."

"Except it wasn't your life you turned around!" Mr. R growled. "You're a changeling, and I won't have you messing with his head any longer!"

"Don't!" The gun went off and Sylla crumpled to the ground, having taken the bullet. Dea didn't hesitate a moment after that- she turned back to Apate and in a second Riddle was on the ground, a small trickle of blood coming from both ears and his nose. Apate ignored him, kneeling next to Sylla who was struggling to breathe.

"You, changed?"

"Like I said- those with magic get desperate to hide it." Apate really didn't know what to do- Sylla was human, and she didn't know how to heal him.

"Your name isn't- he was right, wasn't he?"

"My father kicked me out. I found her brain dead from an overdose- I needed a normal life." Apate wondered why she didn't just tell him the truth- he was obviously dying, and would never be able to stop her. "You're dying." He just coughed up blood in response, and a sense of panic shot through her, along with a realization.

She didn't want him to die.

* * *

Nimbus:

The quake stopped as suddenly as it started- and a second later, Eric and Halidan joined the others, Eric looking bruised but triumphant.

"Halidan got the heart to accept him!" Will smiled at that while Cornelia, strangely enough, looked relieved.

"That's wonderful, Danny! Now you'll be able to stop the war!"

"Hey, you're right." Halidan blinked, staring at the lightning rod in his hands. "I better get started before things get much worse . . . you all better go."

"Why?"

"Most Salamanders aren't that open to strangers . . . alright if I visit you guys on Earth? I really like your music."

"Sure!" Matt looked a little ruffled at his girlfriend's attention on another guy. "But you'll have to give some advance notice, make sure we're not too busy with our boyfriends." Will winked at Matt- apparently, she had noticed his annoyance.

"Sure thing!" He hugged her and a split second later he had shot off, presumably to get the other salamanders to stop fighting. Will calmly moved over to Matt, hugging his arm.

"There's something I don't get." Martin spoke up, surprising the others. "If Oizys and the others' goal was the heart, why aren't they here? Why didn't they try to follow us, since that would have been our 'common' goal?"

" . . . You're right . . ." Will's eyes widened. "I didn't even think of that . . . they should have attacked us here."

"Apate said the Heart of Arcgen was their goal in the beginning, but they haven't tried to take it from me yet." Nigel looked at the metal orb in his hand. "Does the book say anything, Martin?"

"Just that Arcgen was a key world to Nyx's plans of ruling, but it doesn't say why or what other key worlds Nyx planned on attacking." Martin frowned, trying to remember what else the book had said. "Alectra or Aesop would be able to tell us more, I think."

" . . . You remembered that without looking at the book?" Nigel blinked at his comrade.

"Yes?" Martin got ready to go on the defensive- just because everyone was nice to him, didn't mean that they wouldn't make fun of him.

"Cool." Well he hadn't expected that, Nigel and Eric both looked impressed.

"Alright, let's go back to Candracar and talk to the Oracle and Fables-" Will earned several strange looks and felt her boyfriend's body shake in silent laughter. "What'd I say?"

"It's a valid mistake! I thought it when I heard the name!" Hay Lin defended Will, Caleb just looked on confused at the amusement all those from Earth began to grin.

"Hay Lin, it's a valid mistake if she had used another name, this is . . . I don't know what to call it, but it's not a valid mistake." Irma shook her head.

"Aesop is also the name of an Earth storyteller. The book of his stories is called Aesop's Fables." Taranee explained to the confused Caleb. They then headed through the fold.


	22. Clash of Interest, Part 2

**Disclaimer: Don't own W.I.T.C.H.**

**See after the story for Author's Note.**

**Clash of Interest, Part 2**

On Meridian:

Raythor gave a sharp intake of breathe as Tynar not only managed to disarm him, but also cut the back of his wrist and hand almost to the bone. Startled, he only had time to drop to the ground to avoid Tynar's next swing.

Sandpit quickly formed around Tynar, holding his arms and legs so the Merdianite could not move- though Tynar didn't seem to notice and still continued to thrash as much as he could. Gargoyle growled questioningly at Raythor as he struggled up to his feet.

"Don't know . . . he's lost his mind, and Aldarn's gone after Lyssa, I hope." Raythor swayed on his feet for a moment. He didn't voice the other alternative that Lyssa had captured Aldarn- it was a possibility that he didn't want to consider just yet.

"Raythor!" Drake rushed up, "What's happened to Tynar?" Elias was right behind him.

"That witch did something to him- and Aldarn's missing, now." Drake glanced around, as if hoping to see Aldarn and prove Raythor wrong. Elias moved to steady Raythor. "We've got to track," He was cut off by Drake.

"Gargoyle and I can track, You go with Elias and get that cut cleaned up." Raythor looked like he was about to argue, but Drake cut him off again. "Once you're not bleeding, you and Elias can follow- but someone has to get Tynar either cured or . . . well, locked away." Drake felt like a traitor for suggesting it, but Tynar was now a danger not only to them but also himself- and they'd need Sandpit at some point.

* * *

On Earth:

Apate grabbed Sylla, then opened a fold back to Eclipse, the world Nyx was using as a base. Pulling Sylla through, she wasn't too surprised to be struck by energy.

"Why have you disobeyed my orders, Apate?"

"He's dying!" Apate forced the strange emotion of wanting to cause her creator pain down. "He's necessary to attack the Sentinels on their home world and I can't heal!"

"Oh?" Apate didn't have time to scream as another bolt of energy struck her. Over Nyx's shoulder, she could see 'Charon' and 'Siren', the latter wearing a familiar gem. "Then I'll spare him- but I can't tolerate your insubordination."

"Master?" Siren tilted her head, looking interested in what was happening. Charon just looked to the side, bored.

"It's fortunate that you've given me such useful soldiers, lady crow, I would have hated to be short handed . . ." Magical energy from the dagger hit Sylla and then hit Apate. In the next instant, pain exploded in her chest and Nyx sent her through the fold again.

Apate was dimly aware that she had returned to the alley way, before everything faded.

* * *

Candracar:

Upon arrival, the group split up. Eric, Martin and Nigel went to find Aesop, while Taranee and Hay Lin went to check on Kadma, Mira and Yan Lin. Matt checked over Mr. Huggles and Napoleon ("I am never traveling after eating anchovies again." Was Napoleon's response to Matt's question of how he was, right before relieving himself of said anchovies.). Will and Irma went to find the Oracle, while Cornelia and Caleb vanished off together for some quality time.

"Aesop, do you know what Nyx is after? Other than ruling all the dimensions." Nigel let the raven land on his leg, Eric and Martin sitting so that the three humans made a triangle.

"Well, not really. I don't remember much of being possessed . . ." Aesop clacked his beak. "Wait . . . he wanted the keeper of heart to be at its most powerful . . . and . . . well he wanted to destroy everything . . . I don't really know his motives." He turned to the cushion where Alectra was resting, the iguana like Arcgenian simply stared back. "Did he ever say them to you, sis?"

'_No. He simply wanted to take the heart from me, and was quite happy to make everyone else try and attack him so he could gain power from them. He once said he wanted more than world domination, and when I asked if that meant he would take worlds he just laughed. Like his plan was obvious and I should have known it. I still don't know what he planned.'_ Alectra gave a telepathic sigh. _'I'm sorry, but I was only interested in defending my world, it didn't matter why he was attacking, I just had to protect myself and others.'_

"It's okay . . ." Martin scooped her up, and began to stroke her back. "We'll figure it out."

"Sentinels." The Oracle walked up. "For the time being, I think you should return to Earth- The guardians will return later."

"What about the dopplegangers?"

"Just whisper 'merge' when you get there- the coins will appear in your hands." The Oracle his his hands in his robes. "Rest for a bit and reacquaint yourselves with your home."

As they went through, Nigel glanced back- and found the Oracle still watching them leave. Something akin to sadness glittered in his expression, but it was gone before Nigel could identify it.

Then he was through the fold.

* * *

Mount Thanos:

Aldarn was once again at a loss as Lyssa started to cry again. She was reluctant to let go of him, and kept cycling through periods of muttering to herself and crying.

"Lyssa, what's wrong?"

"I don't know . . ." She sobbed softly. "I'm remembering things I didn't live."

"What? Can you tell me?"

"People arguing, it's always the same man and woman. They don't know I can hear them." She shifted so she was closer to Aldarn. "A boy smiling, being nice to me. A square pond of some kind, with a girl with short red hair swimming with me, we're playing in the water, though we're not supposed to be- there's another girl, with white-yellow hair, who's cruel, the first girl is always protecting me from her." The memories came easier the more she talked to him about it. "The girl with red hair leaves, but the one with White-yellow was waiting for that, she says something, something cruel, and it hurts . . . then you're there, helping me stand up-" Aldarn stiffened, looking down at the young woman he'd been fighting. She felt it and looked up at him.

_Her eyes are the exact same as the girl's, the one I helped . . . She even looks like her, if she didn't have the red lines on her face . . ._ Aldarn took a moment to find his voice. "I was on Earth when that happened, you look slightly older now, but I'm almost sure you're the same girl I helped." Lyssa began to shake. "What's your name? I'm Aldarn."

Lyssa shook more. "My name? Father calls me Lyssa . . . but . . ." She looked like she was going to choke. "In the memories . . . I'm called Mandy." Aldarn jumped as she suddenly screamed, and grabbed her head.

"Lys- Mandy! What's wrong?" Aldarn grabbed her, hoping to keep her from hurting herself accidentally.

* * *

On Earth:

Melding back with the dopplegangers was strange, because it separated them to where their clones had been. Martin was lucky, he had come at the end of a Bears meeting, and so was able to quickly grab his bag and leave. He smiled at the memories that came back with the merge, of a perfectly ordinary time spent on Earth. He wouldn't have trouble blending back in.

Nigel, on the other hand, came back just as Uriah punched him and knocked him down the stairs.

"You better think twice about what you're doing!" Uriah left, Kurt and Lars laughing. Nigel just groaned- it figured that Uriah would start doing more than just defacing property and pranks (ranging from harmless to dangerous) for attention, and it was just his luck to be picked as the first victim. He heard the trio yell, and a moment later, Aesop landed on his knee, looking smug.

"Do I want to know?" Nigel winced, apparently Uriah had been able to split his lip.

"I was able to communicate to some Pigeons that I wanted them to teach the boys a lesson. They were quite happy to comply." Nigel's lips twitched, though his busted lip didn't like the movement.

Eric had a mixture of the two- he had merged just as his doppelganger had started walking down a flight of steps in his Grandfather's house. The merge made him loose his balance and he fell down a couple stairs before catching himself.

'_Hey, you guys okay?_' Nigel connected them.

'_Yeah, almost fell down a flight of stairs, How's Martin?_' Eric leaned against the wall. He didn't have anything to do right then, thankfully.

Silence followed. And both Eric and Nigel felt a spark of anxiety.

'_Martin!_'

'_Guys, get to me, I've found something. I'm at the corner of Grove St. and 27__th__ Ave._'

'_What is it?_'

'_It's Apate. Just hurry and get here._' Martin ignored the connection to focus on the almost dead Crow. In his normal self not powered by the heart of Arcgen, his healing ability was low, but it was enough to keep her heart beating.

* * *

In Candracar:

"Meridian was attacked again? Is everyone alright?" Caleb demanded. Cornelia holding his arm.

"Elyon is asleep, Morpheus got to her, and Tynar is in some sort of madness that makes him attack everything. Aldarn is missing, though the others are searching for him right now." The Oracle answered. Caleb looked at Cornelia, who gave a small nod and kissed his cheek.

"I need to get to Meridian, if you find anything out . . ." He glanced at Will, who nodded.

"You'll be one of the first to know." She opened a fold to Meridian and Caleb left. "Well, this has been productive, we've gone across a couple different dimensions and still no clue as to what Nyx wants- if he wanted the heart, why didn't he send his minions to attack when we were searching for it? For that matter, why take Boughbreaker when Ironwood was right there?"

"You're right, I didn't actually think of that . . ." Irma blinked. "And why attack Meridian again?"

"Well, they took out Elyon, so that knocks out one of our more powerful allies." Taranee adjusted her glasses- she was going to have to get new ones at some point, these were starting to get rather beat up. "Nimbus might have been distracting us from Meridian, and as for Zamballa- they could be holding Boughbreaker until Ironwood is desperate enough to do anything to get her child back."

"I don't think so." They glanced at Matt, who was still powered up and rubbing Huggles' back, the dormouse still looking a little ill. "It's Nerissa all over again. We're busy reacting to the attacks that we're ignoring Nyx- he might not be able to leave his dimension, but that doesn't mean he's not doing something. I highly doubt any of his minions know what he's planning, either- Nerissa never told us her plans in full, she always had a hidden ace." His tone was slightly bitter, and he'd averted his focus to the dormouse that was still panting slightly.

"Matt . . ." Will moved over to touch his shoulder.

"I'm okay Will, just a little tired. I think it's because two of us three are slightly ill."

"Yeah, that would do it . . ." Napoleon tried to walk over, and Irma stifled her giggle as the cat's front paws- despite him trying to go forward- went to the side even as his back end went to the opposite side. Cornelia took pity on Napoleon and scooped him up. "We got trouble on earth- several kids are missing, and have copies in their place."

"What?"

* * *

On Earth:

When Nigel and Eric arrived, the trio were quick to power up. Knowing they couldn't stay in the alley, they took Apate to the only possible safe zone they could think of- The Antique store where the entire thing started.

Ms. Weatherbee hadn't asked any questions, just showed them to a back room with a pull out bed so they could lay her down. She and Shade sat to the side as Martin continued to try and heal Apate.

"Why isn't this working?" The only time he hadn't been able to heal had been Stonebark in Zamballa- but that had been a disease. This was a wound that had ripped a hole straight through her. And all he could do was keep her heart beating.

"You two, try channeling your power to help him." Ms. Weatherbee suggested, rubbing her eyes. Aesop fidgeted on the perch in the room.

"Channeling?" Nigel blinked, then looked at the metal sphere that was giving of a soft and steady pulse- like a heartbeat. Eric awkwardly gripped Nigel's shoulder, highly doubting that Martin's light powers would like getting a straight surge of dark. The heart pulsed, and purple electricity wrapped with black went from it to Martin.

Martin found the entire sensation really uncomfortable, even with the heart of Arcgen toning down the dark, his light powers didn't appreciate it. He focused again, but this time the worst of the wound actually healed, leaving a slightly bleeding gash. He blinked, and suddenly realized that he was staring at the ceiling, Nigel and Eric having caught him before he hit his head on the desk in the room.

"You alright?" Martin felt himself nod, though he didn't exactly get his legs back under him as they pulled him over to the spare chair.

"He's just not meant to channel the powers- would have been better if you'd use the heart." Ms. Weatherbee calmly stood. "But not bad." She studied the gash on Apate's chest that remained.

"Why didn't you say that in the first place?" Nigel growled.

"I assumed you knew what you were doing." Ms. Weatherbee stated calmly. A small glow pulsed around her hand as she held it out, and she gave a small wince before retracting her hand and sitting down again. "But even with the healing, I doubt she's going to wake."

"What? Why?" Eric glanced at her.

"Because she doesn't have any magic left- she was created by magic, and her magical core has been drained to a level that's barely keeping her alive." Ms. Weatherbee sighed.

"Is there any way to fix that?"

"If she was reconnected to the world that created her, yes. But the damage to the core- it looks like the one that created her rejected her, tearing away most of her magic and life force." Shade moved, before perching on the desk. "But it's always hard to tell."

"Now what?" Nigel powered them down, then realized something. "You both fought against Nyx before, right? Do you know what he's after, other than power and world domination?"

" . . . The universe is infinite, as are the amount of worlds. Candracar itself is in the heart of infinity. Within those infinite worlds, there are duplicates- spread far apart from the originals, of course. Worlds are constantly being destroyed and created, and the Oracle has to watch over all of them." Ms. Weatherbee started. "However- while you can travel to candracar and other worlds, there are some worlds you will never be able to reach- such as an alternate earth. Duplicate worlds cannot exist close together- they would gravitate to each other and attempt to fuse, which would then wipe them out of existence."

" . . . You lost me." Martin rubbed his temples- something of this sounded familiar.

"With multiple Earths, there are multiple guardians- each earth has its own guardian that protects it. To keep them apart, they are clustered with multiples of other worlds. Each cluster connects to Candracar. As a rule, protectors of a world can only travel to candracar and the worlds in their cluster- otherwise they run the risk of never returning to their own world, which has happened." She explained. "Candracar is the Heart of Infinity- but living and limited beings, such as humans, cannot comprehend the entirety of that place." Seeing she was about to lose Nigel this time, she pulled out a diamond. "Simply put, Candracar is like this jewel- when the sun shines on it, we can't look at it because it blinds us. Candracar is the same, because actually seeing the heart of infinity would blow our human minds and comphrension, so what you actually see is only one facet of it, with people that only tend to that one place, and interact with only one cluster- the only one who doesn't is the Oracle- he is capable of not only seeing just one cluster of worlds, but all clusters- and so he can guide the cluster that he interacts with."

"So, what does this have to do with Nyx?"

"Nyx doesn't actually have a name. 'Nyx' was the name given to him when he attacked Arcgen the first time. Much of his history isn't known, but what we do know is that he's not after just one cluster of worlds- even if he succeeded, those in Candracar could block him from reaching other clusters and trap him there."

"But, with Infinite worlds in the infinite clusters . . ." Eric felt a headache similar to the one he had gotten when he had tried to learn the names of all the stars begin. (He settled for learning all the constellations)

"Most power hungry maniacs would be content with that. Nyx, however, is not most. He wants all the clusters, all the worlds- he wants the true heart of infinity."

"- Wouldn't that kill him? I mean, that much power . . ." Martin had read enough fantasy and science-fiction to know that those who tried would usually get burned to nothing by the power they tried to attain.

"The Oracle is able to handle it." Eric pointed out.

"Exactly, which leads to Nyx's current goal- gathering the hearts."

"But, he failed with Arcgen . . . and the other worlds . . ."

"Not to himself, that would take much too long. Nyx is going to wait until the most powerful hearts are fueled by the desperation of their wielders."

"Most Powerful hearts- wouldn't any fraction of infinite, be, well, infinite?" Martin tilted his head.

"No, not nessecarily- you see, in each cluster, there is a world- usually earth, but sometimes another, that the other worlds will gravitate around, that will influence the other worlds even if they do not know of each other's existence."

"Butterfly effect- what? I saw the movie with Taranee." Nigel added at the looks.

"Correct, though it's more like throwing stones in water and creating ripples. However, the point is that in the clusters, the lowest amount of powerful hearts is 5."

"Like how many guardians there are in Candracar."

"Right, Earth's Heart, Meridian's Heart, and Arcgen's Heart are three of the potential five in this particular cluster."

"What about the Heart of Candracar?" Ms. Weatherbee sighed at the question- she was old and wanted to sleep, but the boys clearly needed answers- and not all of their adventure was written in the book that was the gate to Arcgen.

"All I know is that it is not considered a world's heart."

"So . . . Zamballa and Nimbus were attacked because Nyx wanted the hearts to be found?"

"And to make them desperate, in the case of Ironwood." Martin pointed out.

"But Ironwood wouldn't leave Zamballa- she left the return of Boughbreaker to us."

"Well, I can't give you any more information than that- you're welcome to stay the night, Shade'll look after our guest." Ms. Weatherbee shoved herself up out of the chair. "Oh, before I forget- so I don't have to keep letting you in." She gave Nigel three keys that had been on the desk. With that dismissal, the boys left, Aesop staying with Shade to keep an eye on the unconscious Apate.

* * *

In Candracar:

"What?" Taranee's eyes blazed. "You mean to tell me my brother was kidnapped?"

"Joel . . ." Matt whispered.

"And Mandy." Will reminded him

"Alchemy . . ." Cornelia bit her lip.

"Andrew Hornby?" Irma looked torn between horror and the thought that maybe she could use this to get close to him- then her expression went to pure horror.

"And Cassidy, too." Hay Lin fluttered her wings, nervous.

"So then . . . what happened to them?"

"They're fighting for Nyx." Irma responded, and everyone looked at her. "Remember what that creep said in Zamballa? 'We've already got the cards to beat you.' I knocked Morpheus's mask off . . . I didn't . . . he looked like Andrew, but I thought . . ." She crossed her arms, and Hay Lin moved over to put her arm around her best friend's shoulders. "I just shrugged it off . . . I thought I was seeing things." Will winced, looking up to meet Matt's eyes. He gently wrapped an arm around her.

"Then the question is, who is who? That might help you find a way to bring them back." Tibor stated gently from where he was standing by the Oracle. "You already know that Morpheus is your friend Andrew."

"Noros is either Peter or Joel, then- it's hard to see with that cloak and mask- Martin might have a better guess." Hay Lin offered, since none of the others seemed able to speak. "So, Aite and Lyssa . . ."

"Lyssa looks like Mandy- same hair and eyes." Matt tightened his grip on Will. He loved Will, but Mandy had been his best friend growing up, the closest thing he had had to a sister, and he'd always wanted to look out for her . . . he'd let her down, big time. "So Aite must be either Alchemy or Cassidy."

"Aite is Alchemy." Cornelia corrected, absently petting Napoleon. "I . . . I just know it."

"What now?" Will looked at the Oracle. "Where can we go from here?"

"I've got a better question- Why didn't you tell us this was happening?" Taranee had been horrified and angry, but she had felt strangely frozen as the others talked. Now, her anger turned white-hot and exploded as she got in front of the Oracle. "You see everything- you would have seen what was happening on earth- so why didn't you tell us? The guys could have gone to protect them- or better yet, _we_ could have been there to protect them!" Flames started to flicker on her hands, which were clenched in fists.

"It was better that you all stuck together, Fire Guardian." The Oracle had foreseen many possible reactions, but as always Fire was the most unpredictable and volatile element. "Had you not . . . one of you would have sold out everyone."

"None of us would ever do that!" Cornelia shouted, reflexively gripping Napoleon tighter to her chest. ("Easy Pinky, I need to breathe, y'know!") "We've been through so much together . . ."

"Yeah, but whoever it was might not have meant to do it." Matt pointed out as Huggles, now much more recovered, moved from Matt's hand to his shoulder, sniffing the bronze mask. "I mean, Shagon _was_ me, Nerissa took my hate and twisted it so I would hate pretty much everything I loved or cared about- even myself, for following her orders. At some point, Shagon also hated you all for letting Nerissa capture him- control him. I think that's why it took me so long to regain some sense of who I'd been . . . Normally, I would have never held onto a petty thought or emotion like that, it would have faded the instant I thought it, but as Shagon . . . it didn't fade, so he wouldn't have had a problem attacking you."

"It doesn't matter- it will never happen now." The Oracle gently interrupted. "You may hate me for it, Fire Guardian, and you have every right to do so, but what has happened cannot be changed. You must look forward if you wish to help your friends and family." He ignored Taranee's dark look. He might have permanently lost the Fire guardian's respect, but someday, he would hope that she would understand that as the oracle, he had to look for the best possible outcome for all worlds- not just the Guardian's favorite.

"Poor Cassidy- it hasn't been that long since she escaped Nerissa's control and now some other megalomaniac is using her as a puppet." Irma muttered.

* * *

Location Unknown:

Blunk blinked wide eyes at the place he had found himself in after leaving Mt. Thanos. He had been starring around himself for quite a long time, mouth hanging open as he had never seen a world as wonderful as this- in fact, this was the first time he had ever found a true paradise!

All around him, for miles in every direction, was a giant scrap and junk yard.

In other words, a Passling's Xanadu.

**Sorry! I know it's been awhile, but things have been really hectic- between school, traveling, taking a summer course and my Dad being an idiot and ending up in the hospital (He had a heart attack in the middle of the night, and decided to wait until he was feeling better and had taken a shower before calling an ambulance- at three in the afternoon. He's lucky we love him, cause there's a long line of people (Starting with my Mother) who want to hurt him for waiting so long to go to the hospital (the line also goes around the block twice- family gets first shot, then family friends that have been all but adopted into the family, then friends and his work colleagues and finally anyone one else with more common sense) so he was in the hospital for two weeks for observation and a quintuple bypass (originally, they thought he just needed a double). He's home and doing fine, but now I can no longer mark that I don't have a family history of heart trouble.) Things have been pretty slow in the writing department. Also, a friend of mine has introduced me to a new anime called Bleach that I've been watching off and on for stress relief. (There is something very satisfying about seeing people get blasted off their feet and thrown into buildings when you're having a bad day) Also I've been working on my other stories. Leave a reviews and I'll see ya next chapter!**


	23. Gathering Threads

**Hello, all! Been a while, hasn't it? Sorry about that, as I mentioned in the last author's note, my Dad had heart surgery, and then everything conspired against getting this story finished. New Fandoms to check out, my own surgery (foot surgery) and I just lost inspiration for this fic. However, now that I have regained some semblance of time management (and found my outline for this story- I hand write my outlines, when I probably should be putting them on a hard drive) It's all systems go!**

**Now if only inspiration would come back for my other stories that I haven't finished . . . **

**Gathering Threads**

Earth:

Martin made it to his bedroom without much incident, and collapsed fully dressed on the bed. He hadn't been able to heal Stonebark from whatever Noros' disease had been, and until Nigel and Eric had helped him, he hadn't been able to heal Apate, either. Well, that wasn't really true- he hadn't really been able to heal himself when Oizys stabbed him. Martin removed his glasses, blinking at the now slightly blurry ceiling. He hadn't had trouble with any other injuries- he'd been able to heal his own cuts and those on others, too.

"Wish Alectra had come with us, she's easy to talk to." He fell asleep not long after he closed his eyes.

_He was surrounded by glowing strands- each one a different color. Everything else was white. Curious, he reached out to touch them- for a moment, he thought he held one, but the strand escaped him. "What are these?"_

"_Possibilities." Martin whirled, seeing the Oracle. "There are millions of possibilities that the future can hold- just because you see something does not mean it will happen."_

"_See . . . You mean the dreams . . ." Martin blinked. "I saw Oizys attack me before we ever got to Zamballa." The memory of the storm, the flash of lighting as a man lunged with a knife-_

"_Yes."_

"_So, uh, why are you here?"_

"_As the Oracle of Candracar, in the Center of Infinity- I am capable of connecting with those who are able to see the future. My predecessor was a former Light Sentinel from Arcgen, and he taught me some tricks." The Oracle smiled gently. "Normally, I would not do this, but there are no functioning Arcgenian seers for you to go to, and it would take you much too long to learn from someone in another world- techniques differ, and your connection to a world's heart would make it difficult for you."_

"_You're going teach me to see the future?" Martin blinked, surprised._

"_Not exactly. The Future is in constant motion- every breath, every action no matter how small, affects what might happen. I am, as you might say 'hardwired' into Candracar, so I am able to see infinite amount of futures and possibilities without losing my mind. Time is fluid in Candracar- a day on earth could translate to a thousand years in Candracar, if I wished it, so I can focus on nothing but the ebbs and flows of the worlds. You do not have that broad of an ability, You can only see the things that might happen to you and those you care about." The Oracle sat down, as if on a bench. "What I'm going to teach you, is control. Instead of seeing things in dreams, I will help you learn to consciously call up the possibilities." He gestured to the air infront of him, and Martin moved to sit on the white space across from the Oracle. "I'll start with a possibility that you saw before- a possible future that now will not happen."_

Martin stared in renewed horror as he was once again standing in an abandoned Heatherfield- Skeletons with clothes and hair lying on the street or in cars. _"This is a possible future?!"_

"_Was. It cannot happen now. Focus on moving the vision, and not yourself- make it move around you."_ The Oracle whispered, and Martin took a deep breath, remembering that he had gone to the school in the dream. The Scenery shifted dizzily, moving past him, before he was once again staring at the bodies of his classmates and teachers. _"Good, Martin, now move it to the next part." _The next part . . . Martin wanted to refuse, but moved it to just outside the mall. He stared, feeling sick as he now knew who the bodies belonged to- well with the exceptions of the beasts, but the guardians probably knew them. _"You have to go inside Martin."_

"_No, I can't . . ."_

"_Martin, none of this will happen, this is just a fragment of a possibility- it won't happen."_ Martin took a shaky breath, and moved the vision into the Mall- into the mock throne room. _"Martin, you have to look at the throne."_ On either side of thrown hanging spread-eagled in chains were Eric and Nigel . . . but sitting on the throne itself-

"_Me. I did all that."_ The Possible future version of himself was in sentinel form, holding a staff that somewhat resembled the heart of Zamballa, though there were now silver swirls in the purple ball and the Heart of Candracar around his neck.

"_No, Martin, you've never done anything like this, and you never will." The Oracle objected as Martin eagerly pushed away the vision. "It was a possibility that vanished when you and the Others went to Zamballa together, and you went with Irma."_

"_Maybe, but still doesn't change that I apparently had the ability to do all that . . ." Martin rubbed his eyes. "What now?"_

"_Now, let's see you call a different possibility, one you've never touched."_

For Martin, the lesson with the Oracle lasted an entire night. For the oracle, however, it happened as he closed his eyes and turned away from the livid Fire Guardian as the others tried to call her down. To everyone else, it seemed as if he stood with his eyes closed for just a minute, before opening them and returning his attention to the now talking Keeper of the Heart.

"Look, we won't get anywhere arguing like this!"

"Alright, but where do we even start?"

"Mount Thanos." The Oracle held out one hand, and created a swirl of fog that showed Aldarn holding Lyssa. "Bring them here, guardians."

* * *

Antique Store:

Apate heard a soft groan and a moment later realized that it had been her own. She lay with her eyes closed for a long moment, confused and with a strange ache that filled her entire being. _Nyx threw me away._ She didn't feel anything about that, actually- but she did feel the strange ache increase when she realized that Sylla was now in her creator's hands. _I thought I was going to die._ Why hadn't she? Nyx had clearly thrown her away, had ripped a huge chunk of her out before tossing her back on earth, so how was she still existing? Slowly her eyes opened, to stare at an unfamiliar ceiling.

"Good, it worked." An old woman came in.

"What?" It came out as a croak, nothing like her normal voice.

"There are a lot of magical artifacts one can use to temporarily prolong one's life and lost magic. Took Shade all night to find one that was similar to the magic of Eclipse."

" . . ." Apate looked at her, then looked away, forcing herself to sit up. "You should've let me die."

"You don't get off that easily, Apate." The old woman frowned at her. "Not when you've already betrayed your creator."

"I have nothing to say to you."

"Then you'll talk when the Sentinels return."

* * *

Mount Thanos:

Aldarn had never been more relieved to see the guardians than at that moment. Lyssa/Mandy had finally calmed down and fallen asleep, but he was running out of ideas on how to get back.

"You're alright . . . how is she?"

"Really confused, half the time, she barely makes sense." Aldarn stood, picking her up. "She doesn't seem inclined to attack me anymore, at least."

As they entered into Candracar, Lyssa began to stir. When her eyes fully opened, however, she screamed and clung to him.

"It's okay, Calm down!"Aldarn forced her to look at him. "It's okay, no one's going to hurt you here, so just relax, I promise, no one's going to hurt you." He kept his voice level, and Lyssa just whimpered.

"What did Nyx do to her?" Aldarn glanced at Matt, who had powered down and was obviously torn between taking a step forward and staying where he was.

"He gave her a power linked to madness." The Oracle took several steps forward, stopping just short of actually touching her as she clung to Aldarn even harder. "As a result, her mind, unprepared for such a dangerous power, began to shake apart."

"Father wouldn't hurt me!"

"Intentionally, perhaps not." The Oracle agreed, and Lyssa blinked at him in confusion.

"So, how do we help her?" Aldarn asked, and Lyssa looked back up at him. "You have to know a way."

"You are already helping her. The magic Elyon gave you is already reaching out and keeping her mind from slipping farther into madness." Aldarn frowned at that, but it was Will who asked the question.

"Isn't there a way to cure her completely?"

"Magic, when it effects the mind, is not as simple as removing it." The Oracle began, looking at the group. "There are often ill-effects, such as lost memories and confusion. But the biggest problem of all, is that unless the person rejects the magic, and wants to be free of it, there is no way to completely remove it from them."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that if I hadn't started fighting back against Shagon's hate, I might not have come back at all, same with the former Guardians." Matt answered, looking thoughtful. "And since Mandy is literally half mad because her magic is messing with her mind, outright curing her might lead to her losing all her memories, or making her completely mad."

"Though that doesn't mean I can't offer some help, I think there might be some else a little more capable. But Aldarn should stay with her." Lyssa was surrounded by a soft glow for a moment, before closing her eyes with a soft sigh.

* * *

Earth:

Apate was awake when the Sentinels returned, and for a long moment, no one said anything. Weatherbee had asked her questions about her cover so she could call in and let the school know that 'Dea Eppson' was sick and unable to come in, but then had mostly ignored her.

"You said you wouldn't set us up for anything, but that didn't mean you wouldn't set anyone else up, right?" Nigel finally asked, moving to sit down.

"I guess that moving Shadow has told you then." Apate could barely sense him when Shade was in the room, and several times she had gone out after dark to complete her hunting.

"What happened to them?"

"Nyx made them into his own soldiers, Children, he called them, while I was just a Crow." Apate looked away from them. "He gave them powers that matched what they wanted or felt at the time. But you've already fought them."

"Apate, do you know what Nyx is planning?"

"I only did as told, it was going against his will that got me like this." No magic, a weak body, and the curse he'd uttered just before throwing her through the portal. Apate was angry, and she was going to repay Nyx in kind. "But I can help you find Eclipse."

" . . . Then we're going back to Candracar." Nigel powered the Sentinels up. "But Apate, you have to swear to tell the truth this time, no more lying, half truths or omissions."

"I swear." Apate agreed, ignoring the ache that briefly increased.

"We shall be coming as well." They all glanced at Shade, who moved to hover by Eric. "I can help remove the veil that keeps Eclipse out of the Oracle's sight."

"Alright then, lets go." And after quickly forming dopplegangers, they returned to Candracar.

**Dun Dun Dun! Okay, now ladies and gentlemen, next chapter should have a glimpse into Nyx and Company's plans, and the begining of the end of this lovely story.**


End file.
